Post Tenebras Lux
by TheChel
Summary: Xemnas is away, and strange, dark powers visit the Castle That Never Was for a dreadful while. It's literally up to the remaining members of Organization XIII to face what they have wanted to forget for such a long time, if not more. Fear.
1. Clash

**Hey, hey! Im back, now with a new fanfic! This one is not a theme challenge and will hopefully make more sense and be chronological. I really hope for more reviews and readers.**

* * *

"Some members are away. Including you." Saïx looked over at Axel. The redhead was leaning against a wall in that casual way of his. Saïx frowned. He never understood Axel's need to be or look cool, not even when they were Somebodies. "As of right now, Zexion is away on a mission with Xaldin. And you're supposed to be on a full-week mission to the Land of Dragons."

"Yeah, thanks for sending me to a _cold_ place," Axel said sourly, glaring slightly at the other Nobody.

Saïx didn't comment, but leaned slightly at Xemnas' desk. They were the only two in the office, however. "It was the only thing that made sense. I wouldn't expect you to think about these things. You have to think about the long run, Axel."

"I get it, I get it," Axel said and scratched his neck. "But couldn't you just have sent me to Castle Oblivion or Hollow Bastion?"

"I don't think Xemnas would like to _know _that you're snooping around there. He's supposed to think you're elsewhere," Saïx almost snapped, and his brow seemed to furrow a bit. "Now, _you're _supposed to figure out what he's looking for in either Castle Oblivion or Hollow Bastion."

"I know," Axel sighed. "So far, I can't really find anything myself. Hollow Bastion is practically overrun with that Restoration Committee, and Castle Oblivion is as good as empty if you ask me."

Saïx nodded. "Keep seaching," he said simply. "And if you find something, report it."

Axel nodded and let a portal swallow him up. Before he was completely gone, he said, "You be careful. Isa."

Saïx nodded to the empty room, before he pushed away from the desk. He looked around, making sure everything was in place. Perhaps he was just getting paranoid.

In the hallway outside the office, Xigbar teleported away just before Saïx opened the door to leave.

* * *

"I could easily win Demyx over with fear alone," Marluxia said thoughtfully. "That's too easy. I don't know if I even have any use for someone like him. Roxas... Roxas has a certain dislike for the Superior and Saïx. Just with that, I could persuade him."

"What about Axel?" Larxene said, folding her arms. "The brat's always going wherever the pyro goes. I bet you have to win over Axel first."

Marluxia looked over at the Nymph. She had a point. "That may be true," Marluxia said. "But perhaps it could work the other way around too. He's rather... overprotective." He grinned.

Larxene nodded. "But then again, Axel seems to really have a problem with Saïx, who's pretty loyal to Xemnas, right? He could be persuaded too."

"Precisely," Marluxia said. "All we have to do, is to turn up the heat, so to speak. Don't worry, Larxene, I'm sure Number VIII will come around. However, the original members will be... difficult. They seem to have a past with Xemnas."

"What about Luxord?" Larxene asked, already furrowing her brow at the answer.

"He's for you to take," Marluxia drawled, before a small grin found its way to his face. "I can tell he's being careful around me, not to mention that he hangs around Xigbar to boot."

"Do we even need him?" Larxene groaned, not wanting to deal with the Gambler of Fate. If Marluxia couldn't do it, then what were her chances.

"We'll need everyone who's useful," Marluxia said sternly. "They're either with us or against us. If Luxord doesn't want to go with us willingly, then we have other methods. Find something on him, that would make him... cooperate. Luxord might not know it, but he wants power. They all do. And if they can't realize that we don't need Xemnas for that, they can die with him."

Larxene chuckled. "No need for the evil monologue..." She mumbled, knowing very well that Marluxia could hear her clearly. "I'll see what I can do with the nut-job. Maybe Xigbar knows something."

"Good," Marluxia put a hand on her shoulder. Larxene was, perhaps, the only one in the world who wouldn't get creeped out by that. "But do not underestimate Xigbar nor Luxord. Xigbar has a habit of knowing things he shouldn't, and Luxord... He's hard to understand."

"Tell me about it," Larxene said. "I told you he was nuts, didn't I?"

* * *

Luxord let out a strangled yell as his back collided with the tree. He fell to the ground with a pained gasp, but managed to somewhat cushion his fall with his arms. All the air had been knocked out of him, and he was seeing black spots in front of his eyes. He could feel the Large Body stamping its feet, ready to charge. Sucking in what little air he could get, he struggled to his feet and supported himself against the tree, making sure to keep his eyes on the Heartless. He hadn't expected the punch that sent him flying earlier. He was sure he could feel something snap.

"Bloody hell..." He mumbled, through gritted teeth. "He got me good..." He found himself chuckling like a madman. The Large Body charged, and Luxord had to throw himself out of the way – to his great chagrin – before the big Heartless collided with the tree just like he had done himself. But Luxord didn't give it time to get its bearings before he swung at it with an almost human sized card. The card and the adversary disappeared into darkness shortly after.

All the smaller Heartless that had surrounded them lingered slightly before fleeing, and Luxord sunk to the ground, clutching his side. His breathing was troubled. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the pain, and the dark spots, to pass. After some time, he was finally able to once again fight his way to his feet, before he opened a portal. Correcting his clothes and hair, he stepped through it, and stepped out in the Grey Area of the Castle That Never Was, where Saïx was looking awaitingly over at him.

"Well?" Saïx said in a dull tone.

"Mission mostly accomplished," Luxord mumbled tiredly and handed Saïx the files. "A few of the smaller ones got away."

"That's too bad," Saïx said, not looking at Luxord but shifting through all the sheets of paper he was holding on to. "At least you didn't fail completely. You may go."

Luxord nodded, feeling himself cheer on the inside. He really just wanted to lie down. He could feel how tender his left side was, and how it was spinning and throbbing like mad. Even the slightest touch, or jarring set it on fire.

Besides, Saïx didn't look like he needed more interruptions. Ever since Xemnas left the Castle he had left almost everything to his second in command. Saïx was hardly the type to be overwhelmed with any type of job, but Luxord did not want to make it anymore difficult. At least Xemnas had also told his original member to keep things under control. Not like Xigbar would even try, unless it bothered him. And Xaldin and Zexion were away, if he recalled correctly. That left Vexen and Lexaeus.

When Luxord finally reached his room, he was just about ready to collapse in the hallway. However, he was lucky to find strenght enough to get inside his room, get rid of the coat – he just left it on the floor, even though he would have hated that – and opening his shirt. The moment he got rid of the shirt too and looked at his side in the mirrior, he cringed visibly. The area around and on his ribs was bruised black and blue and probably many more colors than that. He slowly tried feeling the area, checking if the pain had settled the slightest. It hadn't. He withdrew his hand as if he had burnt it, and let out a hiss.

'_Bandages_,' he though idly, and went to his closet to find a first-aid kit. God, even walking hurt like hell. At least the small box was easy to find, since his closet was tidy and clean. He felt himself shivering slightly from the cold of only being partly dressed, and perhaps the shock of being hit that badly. He had the bandages in his hands now, but then he realized his stupidty...

There was no way he would be able apply those bandages himself without jarring his injuries too much, and that would hurt. A lot. More than it already did. And he was so tired. Maybe he should just lie down for a few minutes to calm down. Yes...

Somehow, Luxord managed to kick off his boots without the use of his hands, and he slowly and carefully sat down on the edge of his bed. It was nice to finally sit on something soft. He lay back slowly, feeling the cool fabric against his tender skin. His last thought was that he would find some help with the bandages later, and that he should perhaps cover himself up with the comfort, before he just went out cold, as darkness took over.

And it was one of those dreams again. It was raining cats and dogs, and the wind and water was whipping his face in a merciless attempt to keep him almost blind in that storm. It was also dark and cold. There was no solid ground under his feet, like standing on a ship on wild waves. Screams and thunder filled the air, only adding layers upon layers of panic and confusion. Something hit him in the back, and he was sent rolling onto wooden boards, before the storm seemed to pick up and a dark laughter boomed above the thunder itself. Then a sharp pain in his chest, bringing a sharp, cold feeling into his body...

* * *

**... And yes, the Luxord angst will prevail! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, more to come! **


	2. The Dark City

Roxas pulled his hood up as little drops started to fall from the sky. His footsteps echoed through the streets of the Dark City, as he turned around another corner, his Keyblade resting on his shoulder. The last thing he needed right now was for the sky to crack open. He quickened his pace, just wanting to get his patrolling over with. Saïx had sent him out in the city, telling him that the Lesser Nobodies had caught sight of something wandering around.

"It could be the Imposter," Saïx had said. "Scout the Dark City, find out if it's him. And if you find him, get rid of him." His voice had been cold and uncaring.

Roxas gritted his teeth, and his hand tightened around the Keyblade's handle. Sometimes, Saïx was just a jerk, as Axel had put it. Even though they were all Nobodies, the Luna Diviner could be especially uncaring and cynical. But an order was an order, and at least Saïx had said that he could come back if there was nothing.

Roxas sighed. "Okay," he said to himself. "Nothing here! Better get back." But just as he was about to open a portal back to the castle, he saw a figure hurrying around a corner. That definitely wasn't his imagination. He stood still for a few moments, waiting for any sort of sound or sign. The rain was picking up. Then there was the clear sound of running footsteps, and it certainly wasn't his own. It came from the direction where he saw the figure.

"I guess Saïx wasn't completely wrong," Roxas mumbled before he slowly and quietly went to peek around the corner. It was too dark to see anything clearly, and the rain was getting too noisy. He dared to step forward, when he suddenly heard a sound further ahead and saw the same figure move down the street in a run.

"Hey, stop!" Roxas yelled and set after what he believed to be the Imposter. He brought his Keyblade down, ready for use, before he, once again, quickened his pace. The figure made a sharp turn into a back alley. Roxas smirked, knowing that his target would be trapped, and ran after the Imposter into the alley. "You won't get away this time!" He yelled, ready to fight. But his fighting spirit soon faded away, and he froze mid-pace. His eyes widened at what he saw, and he felt his hands around the Keyblade tighten and shiver. What he saw made him freeze completely, and that was the last thing he saw before darkness surrounded him, and he let out a terrible scream.

* * *

"Demyx," Saïx said calmly, but yet his voice was easily heard over the sound of a sitar playing. "Stop playing that thing, and get over here."

Demyx groaned and paused in his playing. "Can't I just finish this melody?" He asked, scratching the back of his head now the he had the chance. "I hate it when something goes unfinished."

Saïx scoffed, not making a move to get over to the Melodious Nocturne. "You could use that determination for your missions, did you know that? Get over here, now."

Demyx finally put his Arpeggio aside, mumbling something that he hoped Saïx wouldn't hear. He went over to the second-in-command, practically dragging his feet in protest. "What is it?" He sighed.

"I need you to go down into the Dark City, and find Roxas," Saïx said simply.

"Why?" Demyx whined. "He can find his way back, can't he?"

Saïx fixed Number IX with a cold stare to shut him up. "I sent him down there for reconaissance, but he hasn't returned yet," he said. He went to look out of the huge windows of the Grey Area. Whether he was looking at Kingdom Hearts or the city was unknown to Demyx. "Go find him, preferably alive, or you can take all his missions."

"Fine, okay!" Demyx said hurriedly, waving his arms around in some weird mix of defense and opening a portal. "I'm going, I'm going!" And he did.

He stepped out into the rainy streets of the Dark City, already pulling up his hood to protect his hair. Putting his hands in his pockets, he started walking, occasionally calling out for Roxas.

"Man, why did he have to send me..." Demyx mumbled, followed by another call for Roxas. "He is such a jerk, sometimes. Okay, always." He hurried to look over his shoulder to make sure that no one was listening. Then he cringed a bit at the thought of actually being alone in a huge, dark, stormy city. With thousands of Heartless. He let out a nervous laugh, and walked a bit faster. He just wanted to get it over with, he sure wasn't scared!

"Demyx?" Someone called out, and the Melodious Nocturne nearly turned around to run, even though he restrained himself enough to merely jump in surprise.

"Y-yeah?" He said timidly, before daring himself to speak up. "Roxas, is that you?"

And sure enough, he saw Roxas' head peek around a corner before the young Nobody finally ran over to him, Keyblade in hand, and grabbed his collar, even though he wasn't very tall. Demyx noticed that Roxas was looking rather askew. His hair was soaked and messy, while he had an almost scared look in his eyes.

"Uh, Roxy, are you - "

"Demyx, you gotta help me!" The younger Nobody exclaimed.

"Why? What's wrong?" Demyx asked. He couldn't get himself to shrug out of Roxas' grip just yet. But he sure felt himself grow agitated along with his young friend.

"In the alley... there's a... a..." Roxas trailed off, like he wasn't able to explain it. He bit his lip.

"What?" Demyx said, really getting nervous now. "A Heartless? A - " But Demyx didn't get to finish his many questions before Roxas had started dragging him along. At first, he didn't resist, but the he realized that he was being dragged towards whatever danger Roxas seemed to be fleeing from.

But before he had the chance to really twist himself out of Roxas' grip, they were already at the beginning of the back alley. Demyx took a deep breath and looked.

There was nothing.

"Were you trying to scare me?" Demyx said, annoyed at having been fooled again, yet so incredibly relieved that there was nothing to worry about.

"No, I - "

"Or did something startle you?" Demyx continued.

"No, Demyx, there - "

"That was it, wasn't it?" Demyx said. He just wanted to get out of there. After all, they were still outside in the rain, in a city populated mostly by Heartless. He ruffled the boy's hair. "Heh, no worries, Roxas, I'm here now! Let's get back, you can try to tell Saïx whatever you saw." He opened a portal.

The younger Nobody looked like he was about to just smack Demyx with his Keyblade, right there and then, but he bit his lip harshly and dismissed the weapon in a quick flash of light. Looking down, he stepped into the portal. Demyx took one look back at the Dark City before hurrying into the portal himself. Not that the place wasn't creepy enough to begin with, but there sure seemed to be something especially gloomy, scary and suspicious about it tonight. He didn't notice the eyes watching his back as the portal closed behind him.

* * *

"Was it the Imposter?" Saïx said in his usualy monotome voice, watching as Roxas was drying his hair, face and neck off with the towel he had offered him. He noticed how pale Number XIII was looking at the moment. They weren't in the Grey Area anymore. Saïx had taken the boy to the privacy of the Superior's office, after having noticed how disturbed he looked.

Once again, Roxas bit his lip. "No," he said in a shaky voice. "I saw something. A figure... I thought it was the Imposter to begin with, so I followed him, like you said I should..."

Saïx nodded, signalling for him to continue.

"So I cornered whatever it was, and... and..."

"And what?" Saïx coaxed impatiently.

"I saw something..." Roxas said, his voice growing weaker and more shaky. "I thought I saw people I knew, just, you know..."

"An illusion, perhaps?" Saïx' voice was still rather calm, considering that the boy was practically breaking down in front of him.

Roxas shook his head. "I don't know. Everything was suddenly just dark, and I thought I was never gonna see my friends again..!"

After a few moments of complete silence, only filled out by the deep breaths of Roxas, Saïx went to open the door. "You may go," he said, though something in his voice had grown a bit more patient, perhaps even softer. "Get some rest. I'm not yet sure what to make of this... situation, but we'll have to look into it if someone is lurking around in our realm. It is possible that what you saw wasn't real – even if it were, fear does not exist in Nobodies. And Roxas..."

Roxas looked at Saïx over his shoulder, curious about what he had to say. He could practically see the Luna Diviner change his mind about his next words.

"Keep the towel," Saïx just said instead, and closed the door, leaving Roxas alone with his own thoughts in the hallway.

* * *

**And chapter two came and went! I hope it wasn't too shabby, I actually had a completely different plot for this chapter written down, but I spontaneously remembered that this had to come first! To all Demyx-fans, I wasn't trying to make him look whiny and childish, but more like indolent and lazy'ish. And quick to anxiety. R&R. I can hope, can't I? XD No Luxord? Hmmm...**


	3. Weakness

Luxord shot up in bed, breathing heavily. The moment he did, however, his left side flared up in horrible pain, and he immediately lay back down, cluthing the side. Did he fall asleep? He put a hand to his forehead, trying to feel for any sort of fever. He couldn't remember exactly what he'd been dreaming, but he could still feel the intensity of it. He was sweaty all over.

He cursed lightly under his breath.

Then he realized why he had been woken up. Someone was knocking on his door. He glanced over towards his door, as if he could see who it was. The person knocked again, and Luxord could feel their growing annoyance.

"Hold on..!" He called once his voice was somewhat under control. He started the awkward process of sitting up carefully. The person seemed to have heard him and waited for him to open the door. Once Luxord was sitting up, he looked for his shirt, not exactly wanting to show his bruises to the entire castle. Especially if it was Xigbar waiting on the other side of the door. The Freeshooter was sure to treat him like he couldn't take care of himself. Treating him like he was too weak. He stood up, unonsciously clenching his fists.

"Luxord, open the stupid door!" He heard Larxene yell from the other side of his door. So it was only her, Luxord thought, and went to open the door. He made sure that his bad side was mostly hidden behind the door as he opened it. Perhaps she could even help him.

"Larxene," he said politely. "What can I do for you?"

The Savage Nymph lifted an eyebrow at him, noticing his slightly damp skin and lack of a shirt. "Just got out of the shower?" She asked and put her hands on her hips. She was looking rather impatient. "It's almost dinner time, did you forget?"

Luxord glanced over his shoulder to look at his many clocks. Indeed, it was almost time for dinner.

"Alright," he said, really just wanting to go back to bed. But people like Saïx and Superior wanted people to have dinner together. Perhaps for people to strike up conversation, and to make it easier to keep an eye on everyone at least once a day. "I'll be right with you."

Larxene nodded and turned to walk down the hall. Luxord had nearly closed the door, but he suddenly remembered something, and he opened the door again to look after Larxene in the hallway. She turned around as he called for her, and walked back to his door.

"If it wouldn't bother you too much," he started out, "would you mind helping me with something?"

Once again, Larxene lifted an eyebrow. "With what?"

"I'm having some troubles with... bandages." Luxord opened the door completely, allowing Larxene to see his injured side. At first she looked indifferent, but when she got a better look at it, her eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Ouch," she simply said and brushed past him into his room. She spotted the bandages on his table and grabbed them. Luxord was still staring at her with moderate surprise. Was she really just going to help him like that? "Well don't just stand there, did you want help or not?" Larxene snapped at him.

Luxord slowly closed the door and went over to her. Any help would suffice, he supposed. He just hoped Larxene knew how to do it carefully. He lifted his arms, as she told him to do, and stared at a spot on the wall. Nothing in particular.

"So how did _that_ happen?" Larxene asked. She was standing behind him as she applied the bandages.

Luxord tried not to concentrate on the sensation of her fingers against his skin. The slight pain of the bandages helped him a bit. But he still couldn't avoid the awkwardness of the situation. She could be surprisingly gentle. He kept staring straight ahead at the wall, though Larxene's pressence right behind him couldn't be completely ignored. "I got careless," he finally said. He did not feel like explaining furtherer.

"Or maybe the missions are getting tougher?" Larxene said, as she finished up the bandaging.

Luxord turned to look down at her, having slowly forgotten how uncomfortable it was to not wear a shirt. The bandages were currently covering him enough. "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Larxene pushed. "They're working us like machines. But we get tired too, right? They don't seem to see that."

"Who are _they_?" Luxord asked.

"You know, Saïx and Superior!" Larxene explained. Luxord lifted an eyebrow at her. "They're pretty much letting us do all the work, don't you get it? Have you ever seen Xemnas on a mission, because I haven't." She looked him straight in the eyes.

"... Why are you bringing this up?" Luxord asked. It was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable again. He looked back at her. The whole situation grew suspicious.

"What do you think of Xemnas?" Larxene suddenly asked. Luxord noticed how she had begun calling him by his name instead of 'Superior'.

Why was she suddenly bombarding him with questions? He broke his staring contest with her and went to grab his shirt, giving him some time to consider the question. True, he didn't like Xemnas, the Superior of the In-Between, very much. In fact, he felt something like anger rise up inside him when Larxene had asked him, he was ashamed to admit. But with what his... gift had told him, and kept cruelly reminding him of, why shouldn't he? He stood with his shirt in his hands, staring out the window instead. He could hear Larxene shifting behind him, possibly putting her hands on her hips again. He had to answer her, without showing his... dislike.

"... Xemnas gathered us all, and claims that he wants to retrieve our hearts." He said simply. He was still not looking at Larxene.

"Seems like a crappy answer, if you ask me, Luxord," Larxene mumbled, knowing very well that Luxord could hear her. She walked over to him and spun him around to look at her again. "Now give me a real answer."

Luxord opened his mouth to respond. He actually had no idea what he was going to say, but he didn't have to. Before he could even utter a word, Xigbar teleported into his room.

"Hey, Lux, I'm - " Xigbar started out but stopped himself. He stared at the scene before him; Luxord was standing at the window, bare-chested and with his shirt in his hand, with Larxene standing very close to him. "Uh... Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" Larxene and Luxord chorused, and Larxene stepped away form the Gambler.

A wide, wicked grin appeared on Xigbar's face. The one he would always got when he was being mischievous. "Sure I wasn't," he chuckled and folded his arms.

"Shut up, Xigbar!" Larxene hissed and glared daggers at the Freeshooter. "I was just helping him!" She nodded towards Luxord, the bandages in particular. Xigbar let his gaze glide over to the bandages and Luxord could see his grin faltering very slightly, but it did.

'_Thanks a lot, Larxene,_' Luxord thought and sighed. He was just about to glare at Larxene, but the Savage Nymph quickly let a portal swallow her up, a light blush visibly on her face. Luxord looked back at Xigbar, who had his grin back in place.

"Dude, aren't you with- "

"Xigbar, she was just helping me, " Luxord said, exasperation clear in his voice. "I wouldn't be able to apply these bandages myself."

"Right," Xigbar said. "So what exactly happened to you?"

"Nothing."

"I wouldn't call that nothing," Xigbar said and went to poke at the bandages, but Luxord stepped away from him, knowing his intentions.

"Fine," Luxord said. "Nothing I couldn't handle myself." He started putting on his shirt, really trying to hide a wince. The bandage really seemed to help, but it still stung horribly.

Xigbar was frowning at him, he knew that. But he was being surprisingly understanding, and did not step over to help him. When Luxord had finished buttoning up his shirt, putting on his coat and closing that, he looked over at Xigbar who seemed to be looking at all his clocks, but he was really just trying to find a reason to look away. Good. Honestly, Luxord was tired of always seeming to be the weaker of the two.

"Let's get down to dinner," Xigbar said after some time. Luxord nodded, and the two Nobodies left his room.

"Xigbar?" Luxord said after they had walked a bit in thick silence. Xigbar looked at him. "Where do you think the Superior is, as of right now?"

Xigbar grinned at him again. "Heh... I wouldn't know, dude," the higher-ranking Nobody said and shrugged. "He rarely tells me anything more than he does Saïx." He was looking straight ahead now. Luxord frowned and looked on ahead too. He could tell that Xigbar was partly lying. Question was, which part was the truth?

When they finally reached the dining room, it was actually only Vexen sitting there, reading what seemed to be some of his own notes. Xigbar greeted the scientist what an all too rough pat on the shoulder, which he knew annoyed him, whilst Luxord simply nodded politely. Somehow, Luxord ended up sitting between the two.

Vexen was still keeping his eyes on his notes, when he suddenly spoke up. "Broken ribs?" He said simply, not looking at Luxord, and Xigbar was too busy greeting a tired-looking Saïx.

"I don't know," Luxord mumbled under his breath. Why did Vexen have to bring it up at the dinner table?

"I do think so," Vexen said, and finally put the notes down to look at the Gambler. "I could see it in the way you walked, but also in the way you're sitting now. Also..." He poked the Gambler's sides several places carefully, and Luxord kept back a yelp before glaring back at him.

"Hmm. Seems like most of them are broken," Vexen said casually, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. "However, some of them are merely bent."

"How fantastic," Luxord said, making sure that his voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Come down to my lab after dinner," Vexen just said. Being the master of acidic comments, he was barely affected by Luxord's tone. "I'm able to help you, you know."

"No need," Luxord said, dismissed the offer with a wave of his hand. Vexen gave him an odd look. After a brief silence, Luxord continued. "I've already taken care of it with some bandages. Where I was from, healing wasn't hurried. The body would heal _itself_ in due time, without the help of Potions and Ethers. In the end, the thing the truly heals is time."

"You're daft," Vexen said. "It's a slow process, and the injuries could get worse if you don't treat them properly."

"I don't recall having any missions the next couple of days," Luxord said. He looked around in the dining room as the rest of the Organization's members were starting to appear. Larxene arrived along with Marluxia, still glaring daggers at Xigbar, who was just grinning back at her and giving her a surprisingly annoying thumbs-up. Luxord could practically see the Nymph explode on the inside as she looked away.

Lexaeus went to sit next to Vexen. Like Luxord, he gave the scientist a polite nod. Demyx arrived along with Roxas, and the two of them chose to sit next to Saïx rather than next to Marluxia and Larxene. Demyx was hiding his nervousness behind a smile. Roxas was looking slightly pale, Luxord noticed.

The Gambler of Fate glanced at Vexen, who glanced back. "Seems like he had a run-in with something in our Dark City," Vexen whispered to him, casually packing away his many sheets of paper to appear busy.

Saïx looked around at them all, before he cleared his throat. "Now that what's left of us is all here, you may begin dinner. However, I also have an announcement to make."

They all stopped their conversations and small-talk to look at him. Luxord was very interested in listening to anything but Vexen going on about medical attention or Xigbar going on about his... romantic endeavours?

Saïx glanced at the Keybearer. "Thanks to Roxas here, we have confirmed that there is indeed still an unwelcome pressence in our world," he simply said. Whispers and mumbles errupted before Saïx gave them all a sharp look. "We still believe it to be the Imposter. I want you all to keep a sharp look-out. If you find him, take him down. If you can get him alive, we'll bring him in for interrogation."

They all glanced around at eachother, a small flicker of suspense in their eyes.

"That is all," Saïx said, and they all started eating.


	4. When darkness approaches

Dinner turned out to be much more difficult than Luxord could have expected. If he thought that breathing with broken ribs was hard, then eating was apparently worse. Vexen kept sending him glances of either pity or 'I told you so'. In the end, Luxord wound up leaving a little less than half of his plate full, glaring very discreetly at it in utter frustration. Even Xigbar was glancing over at him occasionally. Luxord decided to ignore the looks, and let everyone else assume that he simply just wasn't hungry. Now it was his time to glance over at Roxas, who had been paler before, and now seemed to have been cheered up a bit by Demyx' antics. While Vexen seemed to have been going through some of his own journals during dinner, Saïx seemed to have been going through the day's mission reports. Luxord never understood why paper work in Organization XIII was necessary, but apparently Saïx was burried in it.

"Lux? You listening?" Xigbar asked after some time, bringing the Gambler out of his thoughts.

"No," Luxord said bluntly, letting Xigbar know that he had no interest in the Shooter's story of how he had nearly shot Lexaeus once, making the Silent Hero send Xigbar a look. But then again, who hadn't Xigbar nearly shot?

After some time, Vexen pushed away his plate and stood up. "Well, that sure was an interesting dinner," he said to no one in particular. Luxord and Lexaeus nodded politely, while Xigbar looked like he couldn't care less about Vexen's departure, being too busy eating his own food. Saïx nodded too, having finally put down the files and papers, and having started on his dinner – before that, he had simply just multitasked between eating, reading and writing at the same time.

Vexen gave Luxord another look. "I'll be in my laboratory," he said simply, and Luxord knew that it was meant for him, even though some of the others nodded to signal that they had heard him.

After some time, Roxas and Demyx finished their dinner, and left the table too. "Let's go sit in the Grey Area," Demyx told Roxas, practically pulling the younger Nobody along with him.

Roxas gave him a grateful look. It was like the Melodious Nocturne could tell that Roxas didn't want to be alone if he could avoid it. At least not after what had apparently happened tonight. However, they both looked relieved after having left the pressence of Larxene, Marluxia and Saïx all at once.

Luxord finally went to stand up too, trying his best not to look like he was supporting himself too much on the tabletop and the back of his chair. But he knew that Xigbar noticed. And so did Lexaeus.

"I'll... be in my room," Luxord said, and left the dinner table. As if it was his cue, Xigbar followed him out into the hallway, to Luxord's chagrin. He really just wanted some time for himself.

Xigbar put a hand on his shoulder. "Need some help?" He said casually, and Luxord turned to look at him, slight annoyance in his eyes.

"I'm fine, thank you." The Gambler carefully shrugged out of Xigbar's grip, and walked on.

"Asking for help isn't a crime, you know?" Xigbar called after him. "You really should go see Vexen." And then he turned on his heel and went back to the others at the dinner table.

Xigbar's words echoed in Luxord's mind. He wasn't too proud to ask for help - not that the Freeshooter would ever ask for help either – but he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was unconsciously trying to prove something. But to whom? Also, he did like to let his wounds heal the way he was used to. In a normal way. He guessed he was just old-fashioned. But that was just it... Xigbar would practically never ask for help, yet he still encouraged Luxord to do it because he thought of Luxord as... as weaker than him. The Gambler practically slammed the door as he entered his room. He was still sort of thinking about going to the laboratory.

When Xigbar sat back at the table, he moved over to the spot next to Lexaeus. Marluxia and Larxene were talking amongst themselves too.

"People hate thinking of themselves as weak," Lexaeus mumbled simply, looking like he had never said a thing and kept eating his dinner.

Xigbar looked at him with a frown. "What do you mean?"

Lexaeus closed his eyes for some time, deep in thought, and Xigbar waited. That was what Lexaeus always did. "Do you remember when you and Luxord had to fight eachother?"

"What, in that tournament?" Xigbar asked, and Lexaeus nodded. "Yeah, so? What's about it?"

"I remember it too," Lexaeus started out slowly, as if he wanted to make sure that Xigbar got it. "It was a very impressive match indeed."

"Hell yeah..!" Xigbar hissed, grinning at the thought of that match, but not wanting the other people at the table to turn their attention to him. "What else would you expect?"

"Nothing less of you," Lexaeus said decisively. "Many people were impressed, but hear me out... They weren't impressed by how well you two could keep up with eachother. They were impressed by how well Luxord could keep up with you."

Xigbar lifted an eyebrow. "That so?" He said, and finally seemed to realize something. However, he had no more time to think about it, because both him and Lexaeus had noticed that the conversation at the table had died down. Marluxia and Larxene were looking over at Saïx, who was listening to a Dusk that had appeared at his side.

"I see," Saïx said calmly, and dismissed the Dusk with a wave of his hand. It flew a few times around itself before disappearing through a portal of its own. Saïx looked at the remaining dinner guests. "It would seem that the Imposter, or whoever it may be, has made another appearance in the Dark City."

Small mumbles of "What?" and "When?" was heard among the others. Xigbar was about to open his mouth to say something before Larxene slammed her palms down on the table.

"Okay, that's it!" She said and rose to her feet. Marluxia watched her with a sly grin. "We've got a chance to bring him down now. I'm getting tired of this whole 'wait and see'-game, when we could just go down there and kick his - "

"Excellent idea," Saïx interrupted, and Xigbar sent Larxene a seething glare for what was about to come. "I'm sending the four of you down on patrol duty. Find the intruder. Larxene can go with Xigbar, and Marluxia can go with Lexaeus."

"What?" Larxene and Xigbar chorused. Lexaeus said nothing, and Marluxia hid his irritation behind a smirk.

Saïx stood up. "If you haven't finished your dinner, I would advise you to do it now," he said dully and simply left.

Marluxia cleared his throat, and started walking. "Shall we?" He simply just said and glanced over his shoulder at Lexaeus, who soon followed the Graceful Assassin out of the room, leaving Larxene and Xigbar.

"What the hell did you have to do that for?" Xigbar snapped, bringing a hand up to his face in exasperation. "Now we gotta go search the city!"

"I can't help it if you're allergic to effort," Larxene snapped back, shrugging casually. "But I'm getting tired if just sittin' around."

"Hah, I'm sure Luxord can help you with that," Xigbar grinned, knewing that it would probably tick her off.

"For the last time, I was helping him with some bandages!" Larxene all but screetched.

"So about that," Xigbar said, knowing that a change of conversation would throw off her guard. "You know what his deal is?"

Larxene folded her arms. "He's probably told me less than he told you, so don't even bother. It's not like it's the most interesting thing to know anyways."

"Right," Xigbar mumbled. He could understand that Luxord probably would need some help with bandages. What he couldn't understand was why Larxene would help him, or why she suddenly seemed to be watching Luxord. Like she was spying on him. Or trying to get something from him. Or on him.

"Anyway, let's go," Larxene pushed. She lifted a hand to open a portal, but something else happened. Instead, all the lights in the Castle That Never Was started flickering dangerously before going out completely. Both Nobodies were left in the dark and silence created in the absence of the lamps and such.

"Wow," Xigbar said, his eyes slowly adjusting. "Didn't mean to piss you off _that_ badly."

"That _wasn't_ me!" Larxene practically yelled, making Xigbar bring up his arms in mock-defense. They didn't get to continue their argument, because the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard before Lexaeus and Marluxia reappeared in the dining room, looking just as puzzled as the other two.

"What's going on?" Marluxia demanded, looking at the two, almost accusingly.

"No idea," Xigbar sighed. "Maybe Vexen messed with some cables again..."

Lexaeus nodded. "We should go check." He opened a portal, just as Xigbar teleported away. Marluxia, Larxene and the Silent Hero himself stepped in, reappearing in front of the door to Vexen's laboratory only a minute later. They noticed Xigbar, already eavesdropping at the door, and automatically quieted down.

"But Superior," Xigbar could hear Vexen say, though in a very muffled voice, "I can't just throw it all away..!" The scientist sounded almost defensive.

Xigbar turned to the others, who had neared the door silently. "I think he's talking with Xemnas," he whispered, earning himself some sceptical looks. After all, the Superior was suppsed to be out of the Castle That Never Was. But when they all heard the deep drawl of the Superior's voice coming from inside the lab, their eyes widened ever so slightly.

"You will do as I tell you to do, Vexen," they could hear Xemnas say dangerously. "Be rid of it all."

"With all due respect, Superior, we are talking about a life's worth of research!" Vexen said, surprisingly stubborn. "How can it be - "

He was cut off when Xigbar finally decided to barge through the door, like only Xigbar could. The lab was as dark as the rest of the castle, so it couldn't have been Vexen stealing the power again. "What the hell is going in here?" He asked, looking at Vexen. And, true enough, the Superior was standing there too. Vexen looked almost relieved to see Xigbar, and took a few steps back, knowing that he was officially out of the conversation.

"It is of no concern to you," Xemnas said in a stern voice.

"What are you doing back home? Aren't you supposed to be elswhere?" Xigbar stepped closer to Xemnas. He was, perhaps, the only one in the castle who could care less about politeness around the Superior of the In-Between. Something was not right. Xemnas was not supposed to be here, not to mention that he was acting very strange. Xigbar felt his reflexes pick up. He could almost feel his senses grow more attentive and his trigger-fingers twitch. When Xemnas didn't answer his question, he decided to push it further.

"I can't really see why you've chosen to bother Zexion over there..." He nodded towards Vexen, who sent him a frown and stepped over to Xigbar, about to comment.

"As I told you before, it is none of your concern," Xemnas finally said.

'_Gotcha!_' Xigbar thought and let a grin appear on his face. "Actually, it does," he said simply. "Because you're not Xemnas. Trust me, I can tell."

'Xemnas' looked at Xigbar for some time, an almost penetrating glare held in place on his face. The other members, who had now entered the lab to watch the whole ordeal, were ready to summon their weapons.

Xigbar was just about to tell the intruder to come with them without a fight, but it all happened too fast. Before a sound could leave his mouth, an Ethereal Blade appeared from the fake Xemnas' hand. He was upon Xigbar and Vexen, quicker than they could comprehend, and before Xigbar knew what was going on, Vexen was sent flying through several shelves, which then came crashing down on the floor.

"That's it!" Xigbar wanted to stare, but he allowed himself no time for that. He summoned his Sharpshooters and opened fire against the fake. The Xemnas-imposter simply just let out a manic laughter, before disappearing in a mass of dark, maybe even black, smoke.

"Dammit."

* * *

Luxord's hand froze on the door handle as the lights went out. He had only just decided that, yes, he did want to go to Vexen's lab, at least for a little help. The injuries were becoming a pain in his mind as much as they were on his body. Finally, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness rather fast, he opened the door and stepped into the darkened hallways. No one was there, it seemed.

'_Something is wrong,_' he thought idly. Even though his eyes had adjust to the darkness, there was still something.. extra dark about the hallways. His vision could only see so far. And he was sure he could sense _something _lurking around in the shadows. Maybe close to him, maybe far away, but it was there. He summoned a few cards to his hand, trying to convince himself that he was ready to fight. But the truth was that if he were to be ambushed, he was already injured and exhausted. He did not like this... at all. Walking in the darkness felt like closing his eyes, felt like sleepwalking.

A sudden small headache started bothering him, and he put a hand to the nearest wall. He closed his eyes, trying to focus. His breathing sped up. It was happening again. The pictures in his head, the cramping of his muscles, the sudden nausea. At least it was a mild spell this time. But now he knew, that something was definitely not right. Not when even his own powers were trying to tell him. He leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"Gamblers," he demanded out loud, trying to summon his Lesser Nobodies.

No response. Not even when he tried a second time, or tried summoning a Dusk instead. Like they had all left the castle. Fantastic. He felt something weird stir inside him. Something familiar and yet so unknown.

_Do you fear death...?_

Luxord thought he heard something whispering in the hallways, and in an old, forgotten voice too. He just stood there, trying to listen, before he had to conclude that it must have been his imagination. But then why were his hands shaking?

He took a portal to the dining room, but found it empty.

* * *

"Saïx!" Marluxia called out, as he ran into the Luna Divinar in the Grey Area, Larxene hot on his heels. "The intruder's in the castle."

"What?" Saïx snapped, and turned to fully look at the Assassin.

Larxene shrugged. "Either that, or Superior has gone really mad. Some Xemnas look-alike tried to kill Vexen."

"Impossible," Saïx scoffed. "The Superior is out of the castle at the moment."

"That's what I mean!" Larxene exclaimed.

"Where are Xigbar and Lexaeus?" Saïx asked, eyeing the two of them suspiciously. If the intruder could look exactly like Xemnas, he could look like everyone. They had to be careful. "It doesn't matter. You two stay together and search for the intruder. I will go alone." He walked away.

* * *

Xigbar teleported back into the lab with a heavy sigh. He had teleported to Luxord's room, trying to find the Gambler, only to find his room empty, and the door opened. Hopefully, that fake Xemnas hadn't gotten to him too. He walked over to Lexaeus, who was still busy removing the heavy shelves and rubble.

"Any luck yet?" The Freeshooter asked, folding his arms.

"Not... yet..." Lexaeus was in the middle of the action of lifting yet another shelf away, and dropping it almost unceremoniously to the side, until they both finally saw a hand sticking out of the rubble pile of glass shards and whatnot. "There."

"Finally," Xigbar said, and went to help Lexaeus dig out an unconscious Vexen, before dragging him to a couch. The couch Vexen would always rest on when the late nights in the laboratory became too long or too hard.

"This doesn't look good," Lexaeus remarked and gestured towards an ugly gash around the Scientist's hairline, at his temple.

"Yeah well, he ain't dying just yet," Xigbar reasoned, sounding awfully cold. "We gotta go help find that intruder."

Lexaeus nodded. "Let us at least remove the blood before we go..."

Xigbar looked between Vexen and Lexaeus for some time before he let out a sigh. "Fine."

* * *

"What's going on? Where are all the others?" Demyx asked, walking behind Roxas. The two had been in the Grey Area, as the lights went out.

"I have no idea, Demyx," Roxas answered for the fourth time. They had been wandering the hallways as well, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. The two blondes didn't like the darkness of the hallways, especially not after what happened earlier that night, Roxas had to admit. "It's like down in the Dark City..." He mumbled after some time.

"What?" Demyx all but exclaimed. "You mean something's coming after us now?" He started getting nervous. Well, more nervous than before. He noticed how Roxas had already summoned his Keyblade, before he decided to summon Arpeggio. Ooh, he did not like this at all. If it was a reason to use a weapon, it was a reason to walk away right there and then. He was just about to suggest that they perhaps took another hallway, or maybe even returned to one of their rooms, before he saw something in the darkness. And it was not something he was imagining. He felt his stomach churn before he numbly reached over and tugged at Roxas' sleeve.

"What?" Roxas hissed. He was getting a bit annoyed, combined with the stress he had already received for this evening. Demyx pointed at something and Roxas turned to look. And sure enough, there was a figure standing there in the darkness. He couldn't make out what the figure looked like at all. Like it was contorted or a creature he hadn't seen before. Demyx backed up until his back made contact with a wall.

"_If you want to cross the bridge, dear... then you have to pay the toll..._" The figure hissed in a dark voice, and Roxas couldn't make out if the voice was male or female. Demyx yelped and held his sitar in front of himself defensively.

"Demyx, pull yourself together!" Roxas snapped, and started charging at the figure. He was getting tired of this entire mystery, he just wanted to end it. If someone wanted a fight, then so be it! He landed the first downgoing stroke of the Keyblade, and spun around to give the enemy a horizontal slash. Whatever it was grunted in pain as it was pushed back by Roxas' incoming attacks. Finally, a jet of water flew past Roxas and hit the enemy square in what Roxas assumed to be the chest, before it was knocked off its feet.

Roxas looked over his shoulder at Demyx. "Thanks," he said, slightly out of breath. Demyx nodded.

"Roxas..." A weak voice said, and the young Nobody turned around at the voice. The figure was getting back on its feet, but this time it wasn't just an apparently faceless figure. This time, Roxas could see crimson red, spiky hair, a tall body and a black coat.

"Axel?" Roxas said, taking a step closer to his friend.

The redhead was clutching his shoulder in pain. It was bleeding, Roxas could see. "Why, Roxas? Why did you attack me?" He leaned heavily on a wall.

"I-I didn't!" Roxas eyes widened. He hadn't attacked Axel, had he? No, that couldn't be. But this was almost the exact same thing that happened in the Dark City. His friend was wounded, and it was his fault. "You gotta believe me, Axel, it wasn't on purpose!" He walked over to help support the redhead, and so did Demyx.

But Axel suddenly let out a dark laughter that wasn't his own, and it turned almost manic in no time. He suddenly pushed the two blondes away, still laughing cruelly, before he suddenly disappeared in black smoke and darkness.

Roxas and Demyx stared at eachother, not understanding what had just happened, before Roxas unsummoned his Keyblade. Demyx kept his Arpeggio around, though. Roxas lifted up a hand, palm turned up, and created a small orb of light to hover slightly above his palm. It cast a faint glow in the darkness, helping the both of them see better.

"What," Demyx slowly started, "was that?"

"I... don't know," Roxas concluded. "But I think we're in for one wild night."

* * *

**Holy sh-cow, this chapter sure got lenghty. Let's hope for more of that in the future! Remember, people, R AND R!**


	5. Illusions of grandeur

"So was this your doing?" Larxene asked all of a sudden. She was looking straight ahead, trying to adjust to the darkness.

Marluxia shook his head after some time. "I wish it had been," he admitted flatly. "It could have been exactly what we needed. If I only knew that confusion could be created in the Organization this _easily_. It's a great chance..." He grinned.

"So you _are_ going to take advantage of this whole ordeal," Larxene decided. She shrugged. "Makes sense, yeah. Everyone is spread throughout the entire castle. Would be pretty ideal to try and get to them now that we can get some of them alone."

"I wouldn't advice it, Larxene," Marluxa said sternly. "We might be able to talk to them, but they are all being wary and cautious too. Also, anyone could interrupt us, be it friend or foe. We'll wait and be patient. When they have dropped their guard, and this storm is settling, then we move out. When we're sure that we can get them alone..." His voice had lowered to a whisper, like he was moving in on an invisible target. He stopped walking, and so did Larxene.

"What is it?" She breathed as quietly as possible. She glanced up at him.

Marluxia was frowning at something he might have seen or heard. "I'll go check," he said, starting to walk again. His pace was determined. "Stay here." He turned around a corner.

Larxene kept listening after his footsteps until they faded away completely.

"What's the worst thing that could happen, anyway?" Larxene mumbled and summoned one of her kunai to fumble with in the meantime. Not to mention that it felt much safer having a weapon too. Some time went by, and Marluxia hadn't come back yet. Great. She couldn't believe that they were all forced to play hide and seek in the darkness. In their own castle.

"I know what you are plotting," a dark voice said, making Larxene drop the knife, which soon dismissed itself. She whirled around, only to find herself staring into the glowing eyes of Xemnas. He was way to close for her liking. "You thought I was _oblivious_?" He advanced on her, creating an air of danger around them. Larxene unconsciously took a step back. He knew?

"I do not tolerate traitors," Xemnas hissed, still advancing on her, darkness crackling around his hands. "Neither does the rest of my Organization."

What Larxene wanted the most, right there and then, was to summon her knives and stab him right in the chest. Over and over. That was her instincts. Her reason told her otherwise. Yes, Xemnas did say that he knew what they were up to, but attacking him with just prove him right. She had to play this one safely – until there was no other way out.

"What are you talking about?" She said, lifting an eyebrow.

"You and Marluxia," Xemnas said darkly. "Your punishment will be fatal. Perhaps you will be turned into mindless Dusks. And if you try to run... they will all hunt you down." A creepy grin spread in his face. The moment it did, Larxene realized that she was wrong.

This wasn't Xemnas either.

"Larxene, _down_!" She heard Marluxia yell, and she had only a second to react. She doge-rolled out of the way, getting to her feet quickly again, just as Marluxia's scythe cut through the impersonator – and would have hit her too, had she not moved – aiming to cut him in half. There was a strange shriek from the now dissolved Xemnas. The black fog or smoke, that remained after his departure, still lingered in the air.

Marluxia let his weapon rest on his one shoulder, and Larxene walked over to him. Marluxia cursed under his breath. "Why does it have to disappear all the time?"

"Get over it," Larxene said. "None of this makes sense to me either."

Marluxia looked over at the spot where the fake Xemnas had been standing. He seemed to be considering something. "Larxene," he said after some time. "Is it that you... dread the Superior? The very person we're supposed to bring down?"

"What kind of question is that?" Larxene hissed. "Who wouldn't? If we didn't fear him then why would we be doing this in secret?"

Marluxia nodded decisively. "I see.. It sort of makes sense."

"What do you mean?"

Marluxia folded his arms, tipping his head forward in thought ever so slightly. "It's obviously a shape-shifter," he said quietly. "But I highly suspect that it's taking the shape of - "

That's all Marluxia got to say, because something hit him in the back – something heavy – and he soon hit the floor, skidding to a halt.

"Marluxia!" Larxene exclaimed, and allowed herself to summon her weapons, so that they were resting snugly between her fingers. She started towards Marluxia, but was stopped as the smoke, that had still been there, started gathering between them, once again creating Xemnas' form.

"You..." Marluxia hissed as he slowly got to his feet again. "No one interrupts me." Graceful Dahlia had hit the floor too, but was soon found in Marluxia's hands again. His gloves gave a sound as his hands tightened around it.

"_No one."_

* * *

Xigbar finally stopped pacing around, instead giving an annoyed sigh.

"This is ridiculous," he finally said out loud, and turned to look at Lexaeus. The Silent Hero was still tending to Vexen – or trying at least – while Xigbar had just been waiting for him to get it over with.

"Have patience, Xigbar," Lexaeus simply said.

"Yeah, you say that," Xigbar snapped. "Right, that's it. I'm going. You coming with me or not?"

Lexaeus sighed. He was used to Xigbar's impatience, though. "We cannot just leave Vexen here," he said. He was still leaning over the scientist, having placed him in a more comfortable position, as opposed to the way Xigbar had practically just dumped him. "The intruder is aggressive, and he might come back here."

"That wouldn't be too bad, would it?" Xigbar grinned.

"Xigbar."

"I'm just kidding, sheesh!"

"I can't summon any Dusks either," Lexaeus continued. "And I don't suppose that your Snipers are responding either."

Xigbar shook his head. "Already tried," he mumbled. He blinked a few times. "We could take Vexen somewhere else? What about his room or another place that's actually safe?"

Lexaeus shook his head. "The Castle That Never Was is suppoed to be safe. I don't think any place is safe tonight. We hardly know what we're fighting. We may have our portals, but we're still only nine people left. This could take some time. We could have used Zexion now. Or Xemnas. The real Xemnas."

"Yeah, we could," Xigbar grumbled. "Guess I'll have to go solo, then..." He straightened his back slightly, getting ready to teleport out of the lab.

"Take care," he heard Lexaeus said, just before he found himself standing in the Grey Area.

Still no one. Where the hell could they all have gone?

* * *

"Where is everyone..?" Luxord mumbled to himself, looking around the dark and empty dining room. This was just perfect – no matter where he went, the place was deserted. It might have been the darkness that reinforced his other senses, but he was sure that even his steps were too loud, practically echoing everytime they hit the floors.

He went over to the nearest window, briefly catching his own reflection in the glass. Then he looked out, trying to catch sight of the Dark City. Nothing. It was down there, sure, but it was completely swallowed up by darkness. The usual light from the buildings, that was usually lighting up the darkness of their world, was gone as well. So it wasn't only the castle that was without power. Now it was only Kingdom Hearts providing what little waxy light it could.

Very unintentionally, he caught his own reflection again. He was standing close to the window now, almost supporting against it. He caught the reflection of his own face in the glass. He looked tired.

"_So you're going out there? That's ridiculous, there's nothing for you out there, it's an unecessary risk!"_

"_Nor is there anything left for me here..."_

Luxord pushed back from the window out of sheer reflex. And shock. He knew very well where those voices were coming from, but he did _not_ know why. Why was he starting to hear those things? Why now? He ran a hand across his brow, unconsciously wanting to remove the sweat he had been breaking there. The darkness felt thicker by now, but perhaps it was because his eyes had found light from their great moon for a moment.

He turned around, as he was now sure that someone was watching him from the shadows. He fanned the cards in his hand out again, feeling the throbbing of a beginning headache in the back of his head. Then he decided that his hunch had been false, and no one was there but him. His breathing had picked up too, he noticed. He turned around to look out the window again, putting the palm of his free hand flat against the cool glass.

"_I should shoot you dead where you stand for your insolence, you whelp! No one challenges me!"_

Luxord hissed as the headache grew sharper. He was leaning more and more against the glass, his confusion growing by the second. Was he going mad? He shook his head. He was just tired, that was it. He was in need of rest after all. It must have been the shock of his injuries making him see things. Hallucinations. But he was fooling himself. They weren't... unreal.

He decided to leave once the throbbing and sharp jarring in his head would calm down. There was a slight ringing in his ears, and it annoyed him more than it should. He shook his head to clear it, slowly getting rid of the ringing, but then he realized one thing. The sound wasn't ringing in his ears anymore. It had gone to something much more melodious, and it came from somewhere in the room. It was slow and sad, faintly sounding, and slowly playing its high-pitched notes perfectly. It sounded like a music box. No, it really was a music box.

"Who's there?" He called out, now leaning heavily against the window. He hung his head. The feeling of being watched had returned. Of course no one answered his call, and the music grew slightly clearer and louder. Like it was nearing him. Like someone was nearing him. He really was going mad. He could even smell smoke. The familiar smell of smoke from a pipe.

Had he merely lifted his head and looked up, he would have seen it. But he didn't. Luxord didn't notice his reflection anymore. He didn't notice how the darkness behind him seemed to move and shift. He didn't notice how it seemed to take form. He didn't notice the reflection of a figure behind him, slowly creeping closer and closer, until it was but a few steps away from him...

Then suddenly there was the familiar sound of someone teleporting into the room, and Luxord luxord literally whirled around in surprise to see Xigbar. No one else was there. "Xigbar?"

"There you are, Luxord! I've pretty much been..." Xigbar walked over to the Gambler, but his talking trailed off as he saw how off and askew Luxord looked. "Are you okay? Something wrong?" He stopped in front of the blonde, waiting for the answer.

Luxord straightened his back, feeling the remains of his headache retreating. The music was gone too. "I'm fine," he managed to choke out. "What is going on, Xigbar? Where is everyone?"

Xigbar eyed Luxord closely. He could tell that the Gambler was disturbed by something. His breathing was quickened, his face was slightly sweaty and he was staring at a spot on the wall.

Xigbar looked over his own shoulder to see what Luxord could be looking at. There was nothing.

He frowned. Had he seen something, perhaps?

"Something's entered the castle," Xigbar explained. "We don't really know what it is, but it was able to take the form of Xemnas. Maybe even others." He waited.

"Take form?" Luxord asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Xigbar nodded. "Saïx ordered us to find it, but it kinda took down Vexen," he said. "But come on, let's go down to the lab. Lexaeus is down there with him."

"What would the point be of going to the lab, if Saïx has ordered us to find this intruder?" Luxord said. He wanted to fold his arms across his chest, but the pain in his ribs stopped him from doing just that.

Xigbar blinked. "Well, you know, because you're.. because you're - "

"Because I'm what, Xigbar? Injured?" Luxord pushed, giving the Freeshooter the slightest glare. "I'm fine, stop counting me out. Apparently, he we have our orders, so we should go search. Also, there would be no purpose of going down to the laboratory if Vexen is... indisposed."

Xigbar sighed, and put his hands on his hips. "Fine, if you wanna be like that," he grumbled. "Come on, let's go."

Luxord nodded. '_Thank you,_' he thought. "Where is everyone else?"

"No idea," Xigbar shrugged, still eyeing him uncomfortably. "All around the place, I guess."

* * *

Marluxia brought his scythe in front of him, blocking an imcoming punch. The sheer force of the hit, was enough to push him a step back. He gritted his teeth, trying to return the favor by pushing back too. He could see the fake Xemnas smirking at his struggles, as they both jumped back and out of the current stalemate they had found themselves in. The Graceful Assassin was has slumping forward more than he would want to admit, the muscles of his arms struggling to keep up his weapon. If the intruder had Xemnas' weapons, he hadn't even used them once!

Marluxia glanced over at Larxene, who was still in the background. Good. He had asked her to stay back and let him fight alone. Even though this was not the real Xemnas, Marluxia had always wanted to test his strenght against him. He could accept it since it was overly close.

The fake Xemnas waited, back straight and leering at him from behind bangs of silver hair. "You'll lose," he said quietly, in that deep voice that belonged to their Superior. "Because you're too weak."

Marluxia scowled, letting Graceful Dahlia disappear in a flurry of petals. Larxene frowned at his actions, before she realized that Marluxia was just being what she would call a typical man. If 'Xemnas' wasn't going to use weapons, then he sure as hell wasn't either. She rolled her eyes, still toying with her own knives. She was ready to jump in if he was about to go down.

The petals that had appeared upon the scythe's dismissal started gahtering around Marluxia, slowly whirling around his form in a protective manner before they, all of a sudden, left him and shot towards his opponent, their sharp edges glinting in what little light the crackling around Larxene's hand gave. Marluxia wasted no , more time and charged, quicker than ever leaving nothing but a blurry image of himself behind.

Now it was Xemnas' turn to bring up his arms for the incoming attack. He took the full hit of the petals, though his arms got the worst, before he simply brought a hand up to stop Marluxia's initial punch with ease. Marluxia took advantage of his distraction and twisted his body around to let his leg connect with Xemnas' face in a well-place roundhouse kick, but he missed when Xemnas ducked under the kick, using a kick of his own to throw Marluxia off balance. But he didn't stop there – he took advantage of Marluxia's fall and caught him by the collar of his coat, before he slammed him cruelly into the wall.

Larxene felt her whole body twitch in reaction. She was just about to interfere until Marluxia sent an elbow backwards, giving the most satisfying sound he had heard in a long time as it hit Xemnas square in the nose. He used his new-found strenght, and brought his elbow out again, this time sending it right into Xemnas' abdomen. The force of it finally pushed Xemnas back and away from him, giving him time to gather up more petals. Once again, they flew on his command, aiming for their master's attacker.

"To oblivion with you!" He yelled. He watched as the fake Xemnas had no time to block or avoid, and the razor-sharp petals, now having grown in quantity and mixed with dark energy, hit him with tremendous force. Only when the petals had dispersed, and there was no more sign of the fake, did Marluxia allow himself to lean on the wall for support. He closed his eyes for the slightest moment, trying to calm his breath.

The sound of metal embedding itself into a solid surface brought him back, and more of the same sounds followed. He turned around and felt his stomach churn as he saw Xemnas again, standing but a few feet from him. However, he did not make a single move. He was standing in a ring of Larxene's kunai knives, each crackling with lightning, creathing a circle of dangerous electricity. Xemnas turned around to glare at Larxene, but it was clear that he was now caught.

"What is your purpose here?" Marluxia demanded, still suporting slightly on the wall. He sent Larxene a very discreet, thankful glance. "Tell us."

The intruder turned around to glare at Marluxia. The light from Larxene's trap was lighting up his face, making him extra sinister. Once again there was a smirk on his face. "I can feel it in you – the terror. I have frightened you, haven't I? You should indeed fear me..."

Marluxia scoffed. "Nobodies don't feel that," he bit out, clenching his fists. "Now I know for sure that you aren't Xemnas!"

Larxene caught his attention by charging up the lighting from the knives even more, bringing more noise and light into the hallway. "We should report back and say that we got the intruder."

"No," Marluxia said sternly. "Kill it."

Larxene's eyes widened. "What? Marluxia - "

"I wan't you to kill it, Larxene," Marluxia said in a soft tone. The soft tone that meant that he was being anything than soft.

Larxene considered asking him why, but the she realized that Marluxia did not just want to let this intruder get away with fighting him and almost winning. Wouldn't let him get away with mocking him. She nodded. "Fine."

Marluxia stepped back as the lightning grew until it was completely enveloping Xemnas in a column of it. There was no time for screams or dying words. For a few seconds, the attack lightened up the entire hallway before dying. All that was left was a burned spot on the floor and in the ceiling. Larxene summond her weapons to her hands again.

Marluxia let out a low growl. "I don't understand it," he said, banging his fist against the wall. "How can a mere Xemnas-_impersonator _be so strong! It can't be!"

If a copy can be so powerful, then what about the real Superior? Marluxia tried not to think about it, but it kept nagging him. It kept mocking him! Was Xemnas really more powerful than he could imagine. Damn it. He tried to sit down against the wall, receiving a bit help from Larxene, who sat down next to him.

"This sure isn't an illusion," Larxene breathed, feeling exhausted too. She nodded towards the destruction they had left in the hallway they were currently sitting in. Aside from the burns, Marluxia had left several cracks and dents in the walls, chipped corners and whatnot.

"Certainly not," Marluxia sighed. A silence fell over them for a few seconds. "We need to change our course. Our plans."

"What do you mean?"

"We cannot go against Xemnas now," he said bitterly. "Not directly, and certainly not alone. We should be extra careful He's much more stronger than we anticipated. And if he's got most of the Organization on his side..." He trailed off.

Larxene nodded. "What do we do then?"

Marluxia gulped. "We need to recruit faster and sooner. And we'll have to make sure they're with us," he said. After a moment's thought, he continued. "And we should get rid of those who oppose us. If they're not with us, they're against us."

* * *

The lowest levels of the Castle That Never Was were as deserted as the rest of it. Usually, the Lesser Nobodies would lounge around there. But, just as Saïx suspected, they had completely left the castle by now. The Luna Divinar frowned. Xemnas would turn them into Dusks for their cowardice and failure. And those who were already Dusks would be no more. Cruelty at its finest. Could air blew in from the huge opening, and Saïx could see the very edge of the city – a cliff that lead into the darkest abyss. The only light he had to go by was Kingdom Hearts, shining awfully more than it should. It was annoying him. In fact, it was making him feel rather off. He brought a hand up to rub his temple. Sometimes, the power of the moon could be rather inconvenient. He could feel how his senses picked up in the moonlight. He felt the urge to grit his teeth, to let out a growl. But he didn't. Even though he was a Nobody, he still had his humanity. He still had reason and brains. But that moon! It had never bothered him before. However, now it seemed to be much more alluring.

"Just give in to it," a voice said. "You'll never get your heart back anyway."

Saïx whirled around, his trusty Lunatic already summoned. But the figure he saw before him took him by surprise. He was not looking at a Xemnas-impersonator, or anything he would have expected... unless he looked in a mirror. Because what he was looking at right now was himself. Down to the last detail. He frowned.

"We're doomed to live on like this," his 'clone' said. "Creatures of darkness, no feelings. Why do you even work so hard for a thing you can never have? It's foolish. _You're_foolish. You don't need it anyway. All you need is power."

Saïx listened to his words quietly, all the muscles in his body tensing for every word that was said. His hands tightened around his weapon. Who was this, daring to talk to him like that? They didn't know what they were dealing with. They were lying! Kingdom Hearts was still shining its light into the castle, exactly where the both of them stood. It was almost blinding for him. He could feel that he needed to push back his urge to give in to it.

"I'll warn you," he said after some time. "Whoever you are. Begone from this castle, and I will spare you, granted that you never show up again. But if you come here yet another time, or continue to talk to me like that, I'll definitely kill you. I will tear you apart." He raised his Lunatic calmly.

The figure clucked its tongue, now turning into none other than Axel. Saïx eyes widened slightly, a sight that was rarely seen in the usually calm Nobody. "Get real," Axel said. "You act like you can get angry, but you can't! You're a Nobody! Got it memorized?"

"You're not real," Saïx mumbled. "I've sent you away. This charade is a waste of time, you might as well reveal yourself."

"What, to a monster?" Axel said, a mocking smile on his lips. "Not gonna do that. Why don't you just go back to being Xemnas' lapdog again, huh? You and I both know that it would suit a heartless creature like you better. I thought we had a plan, Isa, or should I say _Saïx_? That _is_ your Nobody name after all."

"We do have a plan," Saïx snapped before he could stop himself. Was that imposter really getting to him that easily? Under his gloves, he could feel how his nails were growing longer and sharper. Just to make sure, he felt his teeth with his tongue too. They were indeed growing pointier.

"Liar," Axel spat. "You can't help yourself now, can you? Are you gonna go berserk now? Gonna turn into a monster? The monster you aren't already?"

"My plan right now," Saïx said with a voice rougher and more animalistic than he'd intended, "is to skin you alive!" The light from the moon was too powerful. Too strong.

* * *

**Wow, this was a hard chapter to write. I ran out of inspiration halfway through it and had to take a break. I hope it came out well though! Fight-scenes.. so tough. Is anyone getting this yet? XD R&R people!**


	6. Burden

"_Bottoms up!" Several cheery and slurred voices yelled all at once, followed by the sound of glasses and mugs clashing together. All of the men around the table in the local tavern downed their drinks in one go, letting out a highly satisfied sigh afterwards. The musicians in the corner were still playing happily – the weren't bothered by the usual guests, and just played on their violins and hornpipes undisturbed. People were coming in and out of the door, the newcomers dripping slightly with water from the rainy weather._

"_Looks like this round goes to yours truly," a young man said over the noise, but calmly. He put his hand of cards down on the table, and was met with 'ooh' and 'aah' from the people around the table, who all looked at the older, more rugged, person across from him. "I win."_

_His adversary sighed and put his hand of cards down on the table. He let out a hearty laugh before taking another swig from his newly-filled mug. "You aren't half bad, young lad!" He said, and reached over to clap the young man's shoulder roughly._

"_Indeed," the young man said. He accepted a drink handed to him by someone else at the table. "And I suppose the prize is still mine?"_

"_Ah, fine," the older person said, rubbing his scruffy, brown beard. "You can travel with us, as you wanted to. We leave tomorrow around noon, make sure to be here."_

"_Don't worry, I shall be staying here for the night," the younger man said, correcting some of his blond hair. "And thank you. It really was a rare opportunity."_

"_It's no problem, really," the man said. "I'd be glad to help a young man like yourself. Oh, and I'm sorry to hear about your..." He trailed off, forgetting what he wanted to say._

"_Mother," the blonde picked up, his voice rather quiet. "There was... nothing anyone could have done. It was simply her..." He trailed off._

"_Say..." One of the other countless men around the table slurred, leaning over towards the young blonde. "Why do ye even want to go? 'Tis rather dangerous out there for a wearied young man as yeself..."_

"_I simply must get away," the blonde answered. He took a good hoist of his drink, enjoying the numbness that started in his fingertips. And the cotton that seemed to reside inside his head. "Just... away..."_

_The older man, with the brown beard, clapped his shoulder again, making the blonde jerk forward slightly. "He can gamble his way around there!" He exclaimed. "Just look at how he fooled me!"_

_The blonde found himself scoffing. "Lady Luck hasn't exactly been kind to me as of lately..."_

* * *

"Lux, I told you," Xigbar started, "I've already been in here. There was no one."

"Someone might be now," Luxord simply answered, entering the Grey Area. He looked around, wondering how a room so grand could feel so small with the right amount of darkness and shadows. And, just as Xigbar had said, no one was there. Luxord went to sit down in one of the chairs over at the couches. He had to put his hands on the armrest and sit himself down carefully. He threw his head back with a soft, rather frustrated, sigh. He could feel Xigbar's gaze on him for the umpteenth time that evening, and it was starting to become a, as Xigbar would put it, pain in the butt. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore it, but he could still sense it.

"Don't think sitting down is gonna solve anything, buddy," Xigbar said quietly, folding his arms.

"Neither would fumbling around and about in the dark," Luxord retorted. "It would be with nothing but a bit of luck if we found the others by just walking around in empty hallways."

"If you want a break, just say it." Xigbar went to stand next to the chair, and leaned in over Luxord – who still had his head tipped back – to look him in the eyes.

Luxord found himself glaring slightly at the Freeshooter. "I never said anything about a break," he said calmly. "I was talking about a change of plans."

"What do you propose?" Xigbar said, somewhat sarcastically. He stood up to his full height again, and looked around in the room. Luxord had seen, heard or felt something in the dining room, he was sure of it. He seemed... disturbed.

"A drink..." Xigbar heard the Gambler mumble. The blonde finally lifted his head to look around, even though there was nothing to see. The huge windows let in the pale light from Xemnas' beloved Kingdom Hearts, but it only reached a few feet of the floor.

"Hey, Lux..." Xigbar said, and Luxord looked over at him. "Are your thoughts... you know, elsewhere?"

Luxord stared at him for some time, squinting to be able to see him. After some time, he nodded.

"They are," he simply replied. He let a moment of silence fall over the room before he carefully got up from the armchair. He could practically _hear_ Xigbar twitching to go help him, but the Freeshooter did luckily stay where he was until Luxord was standing. The Gambler started walking.

"Where are you going?" Xigbar asked as he caught up with him.

"To the kitchen," Luxord said over his shoulder. "I'm going to get that drink."

Xigbar stopped in his steps, staring at the blonde. "We're practically under siege, and you're gonna get a _drink_?"

"Indeed I am," Luxord shrugged, stopped and turned around to look at Xigbar, his face sort of expressionless. "Don't tell me you don't want one, I know you do. A nice glass of brandy or scotch, hmm?"

"Dude..."

"I'm only partly joking, Xigbar," Luxord said with a slight smile on his lips. "Looking for it is one way but... I talked about a change of plan. If this intruder is going for people, as you claim, we might as well wait. It'll come to us if it wishes to confront us."

Xigbar was still staring at Luxord while he spoke. Once again, a weird silence had filled the room before the Shooter finally sighed in defeat. "You better get two glasses."

"Splendid."

The kitchen was, with their luck, empty and at least as dark as the Grey Area, if not darker. Luxord had already bumped his hip into the corner of a table once, not to mention how difficult it was to pour any drinks properly or without seeming completely drunk. Finally, Xigbar gave up and took a sip from the bottle instead.

"You think any of the others have run into the intruder yet?" Xigbar asked, handing the over to Luxord.

"It's possible, I suppose," Luxord mumbled before he also took a sip. "Hopefully, no one went to look for them alone."

Xigbar snorted. "I think Saïx did."

Luxord chuckled. "Then I feel sorry for the intruder." He put the bottle down on the table, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. He was slightly disturbed by how Xigbar's one eye seemed to almost glow in the darkness. A few seconds went by, and Luxord simply just concentrated on the distant sound of a clock ticking somewhere in the kitchen.

"What happened earlier?" Xigbar suddenly asked.

Luxord's eyes widened slightly. He was a bit surprised by Xigbar's sudden voice, but also by the question. "On my mission?" He asked. "I believe I hurt my ribs."

"No, I mean in the dining room," Xigbar sighed.

"Nothing," Luxord replied simply. "I was looking for you or any other member. I had no idea what was going on, remember?" Xigbar could faintly see that Luxord wasn't looking at him. So he didn't really want to answer, then. Well he was giving him an answer, just not the one he was looking for.

"Kay," Xigbar just said, looking around the room to distract himself. Then he suddenly got up and – after he too had bumped his thigh into the corner of a table, and let out a string of curses – went to rummage through one of the many drawers.

"What are you doing?" Luxord asked as he put the lid back on the bottle. One drink was enough, he thought. His confusion was quickly washed away when he saw Xigbar turn around with what looked like a candle in his hand. The Freeshooter applied a small fire-spell to the candle wick, and the room was suddenly filled with yellow light.

"Much better," Xigbar mumbled. He placed the candle on the table, glancing slightly at Luxord. He still looked sort of disturbed, he had to admit. "So we're still just gonna wait?"

"Yes."

"So what exactly do you want us to do if the intruder bumps into us?" Xigbar said with slight annoyance in his voice. "Give him a drink? No, dude, we're ordered to either take him down or get him alive..."

Luxord opened his mouth to respond, but a gust of wind suddenly blew out the candle, leaving them in darkness once more. Xigbar paused in the middle of pulling out his chair, and Luxord got up from his chair and lifted an eyebrow, though no one could see it. "Do we have a draft?"

"This castle is huge, what did you expect?" Xigbar said, shrugging. "I don't think - " An even more powerful gust of wind blew through the kitchen, knocking over the table they were both just sitting at. It gave a terribly loud noise that echoed through the room and hallways. Both Xigbar and Luxord had jumped back slightly. Instead of summoning his Sharpshooters, Xigbar clenched his hands into fists, the leather of his gloves giving a sound.

"I think, perhaps, something has found us," Luxord mumbled very quietly. His other senses kicked in, and he knew it was happening to Xigbar as well. Even though they could hardly see anything, they still had their other five senses. And instincts. There was another bout of silence.

_Xigbar..._

Xigbar suddenly jerked his head towards the door. "... Did you just whisper something?" He said harshly. He went to the doorway and peeked out into even darker hallways. This time, he summoned one of his guns silently. "Stay here - "

"That's a rather witless idea, Xigbar," Luxord interrupted. "We shouldn't split up." He went to the doorway too.

"We're not splitting up, man, I'm just gonna check the hallway," Xigbar offered. "I'll be back in a few seconds." Before Luxord could have another say in it, Xigbar disappeared into the hallway.

Luxord sighed out loud. Splitting up was sure to get at least one of them into trouble. He went back to the flipped table, intending to correct the table, but the tip of his boot hot something slightly heavy, which immediately skidded across the floor. It collided with the table, with a soft thud. Luxord leaned down to pick it up – it was the candle. It had been snapped in half upon impact with the hard floor. Other than that it was fine. Like Xigbar, Luxord used a quick fire-spell on it to bring some light back into the room.

What Luxord didn't expect was for the light to reveal a rather disfigured face, mere inches from his own. He dropped the candle with a soft gasp, and the room was dark again, however, the figure was still there. Before Luxord could even let out another sound, a clammy hand had covered his mouth, and something slimy, almost like a snake, had wrapped itself around his throat. The figure used Luxord's confusion to push him forcefully back against the nearest wall, and he let out a muffled, painful grunt as he felt his side flare up in pain again.

"Ah! I finally have you!" A heavily accented voice hissed in his ear, and Luxord's eyes widened. Had he heard that voice somewhere? "Thought we could get away, _did we_?"

Luxord wanted to move, to put some distance between himself and his assailant, but he couldn't move. He tried to lift his arms, which were hanging limply by his sides, but instead he found them trembling. His eyes were still opened wide, and he was breathing frantically trough his nose even though it was getting harder.

'_Not him_,' Luxord thought idly. '_Anything but him..!_'

Where was Xigbar? He had to have heard that something went on in the kitchen! Luxord started looking around franticially, his eyes still wide as saucers. He couldn't see anything beyond the figure that had attacked him – it was like the darkness grew thicker and closer as the seconds went by.

"What shall I take from ye next?" The voice said triumphantly, but also with sick mocking in his voice. "Your _liver_? The _kidneys_...?"

Before Luxord had any chance to wonder, or even frown, he felt something sharp, yet slightly blunt, stab into his stomach. The force was so great it made him arch his back and let out a muffled mix between a gasp and a scream. The pain was too great, and the stab had jarred his ribs once again. He could feel whatever sort of weapon it was dig around in his _insides_, for god's sake. He could feel the blood soak through his shirt, running down his legs. The so-called snake that was still coiled around his neck slowly tightened, and Luxord's hand, which had been clenched into fists, were slowly going limp. His vision was going black...

The sound of running footsteps slowly brought him out of his thoughts – or lack thereof – and whatever had help him captive did now disappear, letting the Gambler slide down the wall until he was sitting against it. The assailant had gone without a trace.

"Luxord!" A voice yelled, and someone grabbed his shoulder to keep him from tipping over. The Gambler found himself looking into the golden eye of Xigbar, who was kneeling next to him, a strange look on both their faces. "What happened?" The Freeshooter demanded.

Luxord simply answered by pushing Number II away violently. His shaky hands fumbled with the zipper of his coat, and his breathing was still out of control.

"He took my... He took my." Luxord started out as he finally manage to unzip his coat to look at the damage. He was expecting to see blood in the faint light they had, to see a hole in his shirt and all. However, he never got what he expected. There was no blood, no injury. There wasn't even a rip, nor a singe small tear, in his shirt or coat. Nothing. But he had felt it. "Nothing..."

Xigbar was back at his side in a matter of seconds, looking where Luxord was looking. There was a sceptical, but sort of worried, look on his face. But also annoyance and... something else. "You okay?" He finally asked. The Gambler was clearly out of it. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Luxord simply kept staring at the spot where a wound should have been. The blow and his current position was bringing him much pain.

* * *

Saïx let out another roar as he slammed his fully unfolded Lunatic into another wall. The Axel-impersonater, who was now struggling to keep on its current form, barely managed to dodge under it. The wall, of course, gave after to the Luna Divinar's pure strenght, breaking and chipping. The second-in-command was now wild with his moon's power, his eyes promising murder. If the intruder thought that he would have had some sort of advantage by confronting Saïx, he was sorely mistaken.

"Stop moving and I'll kill you faster!" Saïx all but hissed as he tore his weapon from the wall.

"Nah-uh!" The Axel-impersonator yelled, his voice off.

"Then suffer!" Saïx yelled as he swung Lunatic swiftly and with ease. He was, perhaps, the only person except for Lexaeus who could make wielding a heavy weapon easy.

As he gave more and more into the power of the seductive moonlight, he got faster and stronger. Soon there would be no need for words or warnings. Soon he would become a being of pure power, and bring death upon whoever dared challenge him. He could already feel the last bits of his rationality fade away. The intruder had been fighting defensively from the very beginning, not expecting Saïx' strenght at all. The figure of Axel had been hit, punched and kicked with such force that it sent him flying into walls and ceilings, leaving large indents.

"_You always were the insane one, Isa!_" The impersonator yelled with a voice that most certainly did not belong to Axel anymore. His control was slipping, his powers draining as Saïx continued on a rampage to destroy his adversary. The voice was now dark and rough, instead of Axel's youthful and lazy voice.

Saïx stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly regaining a bit of control. He sent the intruder a seething glare. "No," he said lowly, like it was mostly to himself. "We're both insane, Lea. That's what happens without a heart. You're and empty husk, and you feel nothing. You _are_ nothing. How can you _not _go insane when your entire existance is put into question with every fiber of your being?"

"Gettin' sentimental?" The intruder scoffed, finding Axel's voice again. "If I didn't know better - "

But Saïx had already let his control and rationality go in a mere second, and was upon the illusion of Number VIII faster than anyone could have expected. The intruder had no change to finish his last comment ever before his head had been severed from his body by Lunatic, a grim sight indeed.

Saïx paid no attention to where the head landed, but focused his eyes on the body, which now fell limply to the floor. There was no blood anymore. 'Axel' was now a completely dark figure, which was practically being swallowed up by the shadows as it started fading away. He tried to control his breathing, but he could still feel his conscious retreating. The moon was still shining too bright. His last thought, before he lost control completely, was that he had at least gotten rid of the intruder.

* * *

"It... It's fine," Luxord finally choked out. "Nothing happened..." He was still looking down at where the wound was supposed to be.

"Exactly," Xigbar said in a rather demeaning voice that was supposed to be soothing. He had even helped Luxord unbutton his shirt to see if there was at least some bruising. The only sight that met the Freeshooter was the bandages that Larxene had helped Luxord with. Nothing else. "So calm down..."

Luxord nodded slowly. He was, once again, left to wonder if he truly was going mad. After some time, in which he knew that Xigbar was staring at him, Luxord shamefully started buttoning up his shirt again. Xigbar carefully helped him to his feet, surprising Luxord by how gentle he really could be.

"You weren't injured," Xigbar started out, "but something still happened. What happened?"

Luxord didn't answer him at first. He was incredibly busy trying to zip up his coat with trembling hands and barely any sight. "He... It was here," was all he could say.

"What found us?" Xigbar demanded. "Did it look like Xemnas?" He now had his hands on Luxord's shoulders, and was trying to look the Gambler directly in the eyes. And for some reason, he could feel Luxord twitch and tense ever so slightly before he shrugged out of his grip.

"... I never saw it," Luxord said quietly. "But it was there. It attacked me -" He was cut off by a sudden coughing spell, which shook his entire body. He had to lean on the wall for support, clutching his side as it was flaring up with stabbing pain. When it finally stopped, Luxord noticed that Xigbar had a firm grip in his shoulder once again.

"You okay?" He asked.

Luxord nodded. "Yes," he said simply. He had no idea where that fit came from. "But... We have an intruder to catch, do we not?"

Xigbar sighed loudly. "Fine, if you gotta be like that. Stay on your guard, I'm sure it's still around - "

There was a crashing sound that caught both of the Nobodies' attention. It sounded like things were sent crashing to the floor – glass and porcelain shatting, table and chairs tipping over. "It's coming from the dining room..."

Luxord nodded and pushed away from the wall, ready to go. Xigbar sent him a slightly worried look, though he couldn't see it.

"So how's Raquell?" Xigbar suddenly asked, obnoxiously loud, making Luxord stop in his tracks and turn to look at him.

"I suppose she is well. Why?" Luxord replied with an arched eyebrow. Xigbar didn't answer him, but Luxord could just making out his shifting figure through the darkness. Was he pulling his leg again? He sighed. "Xigbar... I know what it must have looked like, but there really is nothing between Larxene and I."

"Sure," Xigbar said in a laid-back manner. For some reason, that tone bothered Luxord. "You sure you're alright? You've been acting pretty weird, getting together with Larxene and suddenly wanting a drink out of nowhere."

"I think, perhaps, Larxene was trying to get on my better side," Luxord reasoned. "She acted like she wanted a favor from me." He started walking again, but Xigbar grabbed his shoulder once again. This time there was nothing friendly or worried about his grip.

"Maybe you're going completely nuts," Xigbar said, his voice dark and different. His grip on Luxord's shoulder tightened uncomfortably. "You're not in your right mind, Luxord. But speaking of debt..."

Luxord found himself staring at a spot in the wall again, feeling the hand on his shoulder shift and change into something heavier. His stomach churned, as he quietly gulped. Xigbar closed the little distance between them, still with his hand on the Gambler's shoulder. But his steps gave a completely now sound as he walked. It wasn't the quiet sound of boots anymore. "

"You're still alive, _mate_," Xigbar whispered into his ear, but his voice had changed. "That means your debt to me isn't _settled_..."

Luxord was still staring at the spot on the wall. "You're not Xigbar," he mumbled.

* * *

**I am SO sorry for the tardiness of this chapter, and I hope it didn't come out too bad! I'd like to thank my friend, Marly, for helping me with the inspiration! R&R peepz.**


	7. At forty fathoms deep

"Why do we not just take a portal directly to the castle?" Xaldin grumbled from under his hood. He looked down at his companion, a short person with almost silverblue hair. They had only just entered the Dark City.

"Because," Zexion said, "we're not in a hurry, and we need to preserve energy. The mission was tough enough as it is. Enjoy the walk."

"Hn," Xaldin grunted. He folded his arms across his broad chest after having removed his hood. "But why are all the lights out?" He looked around at the towering buildings. It was indeed darker than it had ever been.

"I don't know," Zexion stated. He stopped and looked around too.

"I bet it's just the Heartless gnawing on some cables," Xaldin guessed. "They're everywhere." He unfolded his arms. He stopped walking as he noticed Zexion was staying still, thinking.

"Perhaps," Zexion said, bringing a hand to his chin. "However, it feels much more suspicious than that." He walked up to Xaldin, and the two of them walked on together.

"We'll ask the others when he reach the castle," Xaldin grumbled, quickening his pace. "Right now, I merely want to get home, take a shower and eat." He looked over his shoulder at Zexion, about to tell him to hurry up, when he noticed that the Cloaked Schemer had once again stopped in his tracks. It was too dark to see what he was staring at.

"Xaldin," he simply said.

"What?"

"Look." Zexion lifted an arm to gesture towards the Castle That Never Was, which was now visible. But completely darkened, just like the city was. "I am rather sure that Heartless are unable to enter the castle, not to mention gnawing on cables."

"This isn't good," Xaldin stated simply.

"I've picked up the scents of most of the Organization members," Zexion said with a furrowed brow. "But also something... strange. Something that's not supposed to be there. It's.. shifty."

Xaldin lifted a thick eyebrow, while waving an arm to open a dark portal. "We better hurry," he said. They both stepped in.

* * *

Luxord looked down at the hand on his shoulder, finally able to move from his stupor. It wasn't Xigbar's hand anymore, of course. It was rougher, even though Xigbar's were rough enough as it was, but the most noticable feature had to be the index finger, or whatever it was. It sat on the hand, positioned where it was supposed to be, but the normalcy stopped there. Instead of having the proper lenght, the index finger stretched on and on into one long tentacle instead of a finger. It must have been what was wrapped around his neck earlier.

"Where is Xigbar?" He finally managed to ask after some time. "What did you do to him?"

The figure breathed into his ear, letting Luxord know how uncomfortably close he was. It chuckled. "Oh, he was here alright," the dark voice said. "And he did leave you on your own."

"Then.. Why?" Luxord said, keeping still. He could feel how the hairs in the back of his neck were standing up. "You had me. Why would you pose as Xigbar when you already had me? If you wanted to kill me?"

The creature didn't answer. Luxord could practically _hear _it grinning into his ear. The air around him felt so cool and clammy, just like the texture of that tentacle.

"You play with me," Luxord bit out, slight anger in his voice. He kept clenching and unclenching his hands.

"Like a cat plays with a dead _rat_," came the response. The accent was almost... Scottish?

"You want to confuse me?" Luxord asked, finding himself glaring at thin air. "You try to scare me, try to make me react to feelings I don't even have..!" He was pulled lightly back against the figure.

"Watch the tongue!" The imposter said. "You forget who has the upper hand! Tell me, whelp, does it feel like you have no emotions? Do you truly believe that you sense no fear? Ha! Think again. I can sense it on you. I can feel you tremble. Coward."

Luxord hung his head slightly. That little music box was playing again somewhere. Same melody. Same damn melody. Every tone sent uncomfortable shivers down his spine. And that breath on his neck!

"I am not a coward," Luxord hissed back at him, however, still not daring to look back at the figure. "If it really is you, and not some sick trick of my mind, what do you want? You have no business here."

"It's as I told you," that rough, dark voice said matter-of-factly. "It's time to settle our debt."

"You seem to keep forgetting," Luxord started out slowly, "that our debt _is _settled..!" He wasn't proud to admit it, but Luxord took advantage of the calm conversation and pushed his one elbow back, hard. It hit what he assumed to be his captor's guts, or perhaps even solar plexus, and the grip on his shoulder loosened as a painful grunt was heard behind him. Luxord, however, never got to take more than one or two steps away before the intruder had his slimy hand on his shoulder again. He was stronger than expected. Just like earlier, Luxord found himself pushed harshly against a wall. This time it wasn't that nasty tentacle wrapped around his neck. No, that hand was on his shoulder, keeping him pressed against the wall. It was the other hand, but... it was.. it reminded him of a crab claw. Oh god, his other hand was a pair of pincers. That was what had been digging around in his insides. And now it had his throat in its grip.

Luxord struggled for a while, and the intruder stuck its ugly face close to his, finally giving Luxord a thorough look at him. He wished he hadn't. He wished he could look away, but the familiarity struck him like lightning.

That same face with clammy skin.

'_Good god_,' Luxord thought.

The same... tentacly beard.

'_It really is..._'

The very same blue eyes, coldly boring into any living man's soul.

"_Not_ a coward, you say?"

Luxord shook his head the best he could, still forced to look into those eyes. "I resent that," the Gambler said simply. He sure wasn't trembling, had he even done that. Right now, it just felt like his body had gone numb.

"Ha!" The figure exclaimed, making Luxord jump very slightly. "You try to slither away like one, you bilge rat!"

"Because you will not listen!" Luxord found himself hissing back at his opponent, trying to pry the pincers off his neck but failing miserably when they only tightened ever so slightly in warning. He removed his hands, and held them next to his head where they could be seen, palms facing the attacker. He looked away and slightly down discreetly, struggling to calm his breath. "The debt is settled. I might still be alive, but..."

"But _what_?"

"What you took," Luxord started out slowly. "I don't have it. I may be alive, but I haven't got it." He lifted his gaze, meeting cruel, blue eyes. They narrowed, sending him the most suspicious of glares.

That's when a powerful flurry of cards burst from both of Luxord's palms. They flew out and hit the tentacly face, working as an attack and a distraction. There was a painful howl, and some cursing, and Luxord felt the pincers around his neck disappear as the attacker reared back. He wasted no time. He ran for the door, hearing the cussing in the background, and took a sharp turn to the right and down the hallway. He ignored the burning in his lungs, the extreme pain it caused him to run, and was soon gone.

* * *

"Damn it!" Xigbar hissed, squinting. He could hardly see anything in front of him. All he had to go by was keeping one hand on the wall. His other hand still held one of his Sharpshooters. He was sure something was out there. But he'd told Luxord that he was only going to check for a few seconds. Seconds turned into minutes, and he was sure Luxord would let him pay for that.

'_Better get back_,' he thought, and made to turn around. That was before he sensed something in front of him, and froze completely. It took a few steps forward, holding his hand out. He touched something solid. A wall. Had he hit a dead end? No, he knew the hallways, and there was defenitely supposed to be a way through there. He turned around to walk back, but hit a wall after a few careful steps again.

"What the..?" He said, rubbing his face where it had hit the wall.

"_Why the hurry?_" Something whispered very close to his ear, and Xigbar stepped back and away. "_You have not been gone for that long._"

Xigbar blinked a few times. Was he starting to hear things now? Great. Just great. Anyway, he had to find his way back. He'd just lost his sense of direction on the dark, that's what happened. Yeah.

"Xigbar," a voice said simply. It was old and raw, but there was something sort of... friendly about it. But only the tiniest bit. It was mostly stern. "There's no need to panic. After all, I am merely here to talk."

Xigbar turned around to see someone step out of the shadows. He could just make out the outline and certain features. A heavy, open coat. A bald head and glowing, yellow eyes. A bent posture. And a familiar dark energy.

There was a moment of silence, before Xigbar put his free hand on his hip. "Yeah,no. That ain't gonna work," he said simply, glaring slightly at the figure. He could see a thin smile spread on that devious face.

"What's not going to work?" The apparently old man said, spreading his arms out to prove that he meant no harm.

"Do you _want_ me to shoot your head off?" Xigbar snapped, realizing that there was more resentment in his voice than he would have liked. "Stay right there, dammit." He aimed the Sharpshooter at the figure.

The man's grin grew wider, he could tell. "You haven't changed a bit, I see."

"Shut up!" Xigbar hissed and waved the gun over so slightly. "You get a chance to tell me what you're doing here, then I'm going to kick your ass for kicking Vexen's."

"Always so rash, old friend," the old man said, stepping closer to him. He showed no fear of being shot at all. "I believe that's what got you in this predicament to begin with."

Xigbar pointed his gun directly at the intruder's face, silently telling him to come no closer. "What do you want, you old - "

"_Braig_," the man warned. He looked the Nobody dead in the eye, glowing yellow meeting glowing yellow. "I'd hate to reprove you, Braig. So just act like you know what's best for you."

Xigbar felt himself freeze up slightly. The look he received. There was something extremely deadly about it. Just like he remembered. A strange memory of something black, curvy and partly sharp pressed against his throat came to the top of his mind. He clenched his fists, thightening his grip on the gun.

The old man kept his gaze, increasing the tension between them, until he finally broke off and waved his arms calmly as he spoke. "Of course, it's only natural that you want to go back to your friend," he said, slight mocking in his voice.

"What..?" Xigbar let his arms fall down by his sides, unsummoning his gun, maybe unconsciously.

"After all, he is injured, is he not?" The old man clasped his hands behind his back, casually starting to pace around Xigbar, like a hungry lion. "It really would be a shame... if anything happened to him."

Xigbar wasn't proud to admit it, but the words reached him pretty efficiently. He could feel his entire body aching to turn around and run for the kitchen, granted it was the right direction. If Luxord was in trouble then -

But then the Freeshooter remembered how peeved Luxord seemed to be about his own current situation. How he seemed to almost dispise Xigbar for hanging around him, practically ready to catch him. Luxord had told Xigbar to stop counting him out. Not that he had ever done that... had he?

Xigbar let out a defiant snort. "You shouldn't worry about it," he said, his tone snide. "He can actually take care of himself. He's really not as weak as we might've thought." He folded his arms.

"Oh?" A grin.

"Yeah."

There was a dark chuckle, and the intruder faltered ever so slightly in his steps but kept going around and around Xigbar. "Haven't lost your humor, I see..."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I remember teaching you that the heart and the soul can be greatly weakened when the owner lies to himself," the man said matter-of-factly, shrugging slightly. "Which you are doing right now! You see him as beneath you. It's not many people you see as beneath you. But in this case, it is true."

"I'm not listening to this," Xigbar said, making sure not to turn his back on the... enemy. "It doesn't work. It kinda ruins the athmosphere, when I know you're not really here."

"Suit yourself," that old, scratchy voice said. It sounded so demeaning. "Remember, he is the anchor. He's keeping you down. There is nothing wrong with you, nothing wrong with getting stronger. But him? He's just like other weak people, with weak hearts – too scared to dive into true power."

"Don't remeber asking for a new lesson," Xigbar retorted. "And we don't have hearts! Thanks to you."

"Come now, Braig, I would never do that," the figure stopped and opened his arms, almost like he was expecting a hug. Xigbar scowled. He knew this. The old coot was trying to play nice. Trying to win his trust, with gentle contact and encouraging words. "But I'll leave you with this food for thought."

Xigbar sighed. He turned around to walk away, seeing how the darkness and possibly imaginary walls had retreated. But he was greatly startled when he discovered that the man had somehow moved in front of him again and was standing uncomfortably close, once again starting him directly in the eye. He was way too close – their noses were almost touching.

"Remember," the intruder said, letting a gloved hand ghost over Xigbar's eyepatch. "If you keep failing, you will keep losing things."

And then he was gone.

Xigbar made a beeline for the kitchen, the best he could, only to find it empty.

"Fuck."

* * *

"Marluxia," Larxene mumbled, still sitting against the wall next to him. "Let's just get you back to the lab, and meet up with the others. You're too exhausted."

Marluxia sent her the best glare he could muster, even though it lost its effect in the darkness. "I am not exhausted."

Larxene sighed. "Men," she said, once again wondering why they had to be so proud. But even though she wanted to get back to the lab, rest and tell the others that they got the intruder, she stayed by Marluxia's side, waiting for him to get a friggin' grip. "Sure look exhausted to me..." She mumbled.

"Larxene, please," he said calmly, though exhaustion was clear in his voice. "I am trying to think."

"Yeah, maybe you _should_ think, and get your ass back to the lab!" Larxene hissed.

"They're trying to use fear," Marluxia mumbled, staring at a spot on the opposite wall.

"What?" Larxene asked. "Who?"

"The intruders," Marluxia explained. "It's what I tried to explain earlier. They use fear. Ironic, really, seeing as we cannot feel that."

Larxene didn't comment.

"Shapeshifters that can take the form of your fears..." Marluxia trailed off, sounding most impressed and interested. He took a few deep breaths, leaning his head back against the wall.

"Wait," Larxene suddenly said, "what do you mean _they_?"

"There are more than one intruder," Marluxia finally said. "I can feel it."

* * *

"I'm not checking around the corner this time," Demyx whined. "This time, you do it."

"Fine," Roxas sighed, pulling Demyx back and going to peek around the corner of yet another corridor. "There's nothing."

They both stepped forward, looking curiously down the corridor. Roxas still held his Keyblade, ready to fight. Demyx had unsummoned his Arpeggio – it was too heavy to carry around without reason. Even though fumbling around gave them no clear idea of where they were, they were sure that they had reached some of the lower levels of the Castle That Never Was. Their suspicions were right, however, because they could both soon feel the wind blowing in from the huge opening that was to be found at Nothing's Call. And with that, came the moonlight.

"Finally some light," Roxas sighed. "I'm getting pretty tired of playing hide and seek," he said.

"I think it's better than running into that _thing_ again," Demyx said, shuddering slightly.

"It's what we're supposed to do," Roxas found himself explaining once again. "Remember, we're not fleeing. We're searching."

This time, it was Demyx turn to sigh. "I know, Roxy, but..." He rubbed the back of his head. "We've been looking everywhere we came, right? Isn't it safe to assume that the others took care of it?"

"Maybe," Roxas said, a bit distracted. He was slightly busy looking at the walls and floors. It looked like some terrible destruction had traveled through there. There were cracks and indents. Had there been a fight? "Anyway, if you don't want to help find the intruder, maybe you should talk to Saïx?" He grinned a bit, knowing that Demyx wasn't going to do that.

"Wha – hey, I didn't say I didn't wanna help!" Demyx stammered. "I just meant that maybe the job's already done, is all..."

"I repeat," Roxas said, "you have to ask Saïx about that."

"Well, I could do that since he's standing right over there," Demyx said, pointing towards the castle's base opening.

Roxas whirled around, seeing the same as Demyx saw. The long, blue hair. The straight posture. That was Saïx alright, standing around 30 feet away, with his back to the both of them. It looked like he was just staring up at the moon.

"Let's talk to him!" Demyx said, feeling a bit more confident with Saïx around, if that could ever be possible. Before Roxas could react, the Melodious Nocturne was already moving towards Saïx in a weird mix of walking, ambling and running. "Saïx! Hey, Saïx!"

The Luna Divinar didn't seem to react on Demyx' outcries, but Demyx still moved towards him. Roxas frowned, feeling tension rising in the entire area.

Demyx finally skidded to a halt when he was standing somewhat behind Saïx. He rested his palms on his knees. "Hey," the Nocturne panted. "Do you know how the others are doing?"

No answer. If it weren't for Saïx slight movements, he might have looked like a puppet.

"Saïx?"

"The moon is too bright tonight..." Saïx mumbled. There was something strange about his voice. Other than that, when was the moon ever too bright for him?

"Huh?" Demyx said, scratching his head a bit. "Yeah, I guess it is. But- Ah!" Before the Nocturne had a chance to react, Roxas had quickly come between them, blocking a powerful blow that had come from Saïx' Lunatic. Demyx hadn't even sensed him turn around, let alone summon his weapon. He reared back, seeing how Roxas was struggling to withstand the pressure Saïx was putting on him

"Something's wrong with him!" Roxas bit out, trying to lock his knees the best he could.

"What do you mean?" Demyx said, panic in his voice. "You mean it isn't him?" He summoned his sitar.

"Pretty... sure.. it's him..." Roxas was still struggling to keep Saïx at bay, but he eventually had acknowledge that his strength was too great, and he jumped back and away from him, barely dodging the thrust Saïx put into his weapon. Just like when they had run into the intruder, Demyx sent a burst of water straight at Saïx chest. It only pushed him back one or two steps, unlike the intruder, which had almost been sent flying back. He tried sending another, more powerful, water jet at their second-in-command, but Saïx merely put his heels down and sent Demyx a murderous glare, which made the Nocturne take a few frightened steps back.

"It won't work!" Demyx yelled to Roxas. "He's too strong!"

Roxas brought up his Keyblade and charged. "Maybe a good smack in the back of the head will help!" He swung at Saïx, making sure to be quick and forceful at the same time. Oh, how he'd been waiting for a chance to get a few good hits on Saïx. After an intense session of him trying to hit Saïx, and the Luna Divinar simply parrying – barely having to move – Roxas finally managed to maneuver himself behind his opponent, swinging his Keyblade at his lower back.

"Gotcha!" The boy yelled. And that's about the last thing he remembered saying, before he was hit harder than he'd ever been, perhaps only surpassed by Lexaeus. Saïx' Lunatic hit him right in the guts, knocking out all air with a pained grunt. Roxas was sent flying back, past Demyx, and into a wall. The last thing he remembered before everything went black – well, blacker than it was – was a sharp pain in the back of his head. He hadn't expected Saïx to be so _fast_.

* * *

He was having an extreme headache – throbbing, sharp, ringing. All kinds of hurt had been placed directly in his head, somewhere near his temple, his logical mind reasoned. He had to have been stressed again. What else could give him such a headache. Possibly because Xigbar was ruining his experiments, Luxord was hurt again, Saïx was breathing down his neck and Xemnas was putting more and more work on his narrow shoulders. He had, apparently, been asleep. No, unconscious. Yes, that made sense. He remembered now, how Xemnas had invaded his lab, not to mention personal space. Concluding that he needed to wake up, Vexen opened his eyes slowly.

Oh, how he wished he hadn't done that! The moment he did open his eyes, a sharp light assaulted his poor pupils, making him draw in a sharp breath. He squeezed his eyes shot again, turning his head. Through his eyelids, he could see the light move, and eventually disperse.

"Hold still," a young, calm voice said. "I'm trying to work here."

"Zexion..?" Vexen said weakly, finally daring to open his eyes once again. He was lying on something soft. The couch, he realized. Zexion was sitting on a stool next to the couch, looking down at him with concentration furrowing his brow slightly.

"Yes," the younger Nobody said simply, in the middle of the process of packing away a pen-light. Vexen noticed a suturing kit resting on his own chest, and some of the equipment in Zexion's hands. "Now, as I mentioned before, hold still. I'm trying to close that gash of yours."

"Did you remember to use a reversed cutting needle?" Vexen asked, trying to figure out when Zexion had arrived.

"Yes."

"Do you insert the needle with a 90 degree angle?"

"Yes."

"Did you - "

"Yes, Vexen," Zexion sighed, pausing slightly in his work. "You taught me this when I was a child, do not make the mistake of thinking that I've forgotten it."

Vexen nodded the best he could. "Apologies," he mumbled. "But one can never be too sure."

"I just told you to hold still," Zexion said firmly, placing a hand on Vexen's one cheek to hold his head still. "You really aren't a good patient."

"I'm used to being the doctor..." Vexen retorted.

"Well then it's good for you to get some more experience on this side..."

"Zexion," Lexaeus said calmly, walking over to them. "Will he be alright?"

"In due time, yes," Zexion simply answered, finishing up his work. He packed the suturing kit away. "Bandages." He held his hand out for Lexaeus to place the requested item in. The Silent Hero did so.

"If you're here," Vexen said to Zexion, sitting up so as to help the younger Nobody apply the bandages, "I suppose that means Xaldin is here too?"

Lexaeus and Zexion nodded.

"Xaldin and I arrived some time ago," Zexion said.

"He went to find the others," Lexaeus finished. "Said something about Xigbar."

Vexen stood up, almost immediately feeling his headache rise, and a slight degree of nausea. Zexion went to support him. "Easy," the Schemer said. "It may not be but a mere gash. It is quite possible that you have a concussion too."

"... The intruder is most powerful," Vexen reasoned. "It is quite possible that some of the other Organization members are injured too. Luxord already was."

Zexion nodded. "I see."

Lexaeus suddenly lifted his head and looked in the other direction. His brow furrowed, and his movements froze. Like he was listening to something.

"What is it, Lexaeus?" Vexen demanded.

"... There is some ruckus going on," Lexaeus concluded. "If the small vibrations in the floors and walls are anything to go by, it's rather close."

"The slight smell of blood has been increasing as we speak," Zexion suddenly said. "Which means.."

"Either the intruder is being taken care of, or our members are injured," Vexen deadpanned.

"Is it coming this way?" Zexion asked quietly.

"Not quite," Lexaeus explained. "But it is possible that it will it will at some point. I'll go stall it."

"Be careful," Zexion and Vexen chorused. Lexaeus nodded before taking a portal away.

* * *

"Roxas!" Demyx exclaimed, seeing the younger Nobody hit the ground with a sickening thud after his encounter with the wall. He wished he had stayed quiet, though, because Saïx' full attention was on him now, and once again he took several steps back.

"Uh, about all those 'x-face' comments..." Demyx started out awkwardly. "Most of them were Axel's, I swear! I, uh, might have uttered some but-"

"Enough!" Saïx roared, bringing down his claymore right in front of him. The sheer power made a large crater in the floor, sending debris and big chunks of solid rock flying. "Behold your doom!" He raised the claymore once more, advancing on Demyx, who, by now, was backed up against a wall, holding his sitar in front of him protectively.

'_This is bad!_' Demyx thought, plucking the strings the best he could to summon a few water clones. He wanted to use them as distraction, but he couldn't just run! He had to get to Roxas, right?

Saïx had already plowed his way through almost all of the water clones, distracted by his own blood-lust. Demyx saw the chance. He slowly slid towards the unconscious Roxas, making sure to do no sudden movements. The clones were falling like flies, splashing water everywhere. When finally Demyx had reached Roxas, and kneeled down to shake him awake quietly, he found Saïx towering over the both of them, his Lunatic resting against Demyx' throat. Number IX gulped, feeling the cold steel against his sweaty skin. Could he really be that fast? He looked Saïx in the eyes, noticing how the Luna Divinar's seemed to almost overflow with yellow glow. He was about to go completely berserk!

"Saïx.." Demyx said weakly. "Listen... I don't know what happened to you. But.. We're your, uh, teammates, yeah, that's it! And we don't wanna fight you!"

Saïx glared at him, all the way down his nose, down his arm and down his claymore. He was way too gone, Demyx could tell. Maybe sweet-talking wouldn't calm him down, but it could at least distract him, right?

The sound of a portal opening several feet behind Saïx caught both Nobodies' attention. Demyx looked up and past his assailant to see Lexaeus, Skysplitter in his hand, step calmly out of a dark portal. Saïx whirled around, growling lowly.

"... I thought it might have been you, Saïx," Lexaeus said simply. He noticed Demyx with the unconscious Roxas. There was no certain expression on his face. "Demyx. Get Roxas to the laboratory. I'll take it from here."

Demyx' eyes shifted quickly between Lexaeus and Saïx. He felt so incredibly relieved! Saïx had no interest in Demyx anymore, sensing a stronger enemy in Lexaeus, and would probably not mind if Demyx moved now. And so he did. Slowly, he lifted Roxas – who was a bit heavy for him – up by hooking his arms under Number XIII's. After that, he awkwardly lifted him up bridal style, and slowly stepped back. He looked at Lexaeus, only now realizing how cold sweat was running down his own face.

"Thanks, Lexaeus," Demyx quietly before letting a portal swallow him and Roxas up. He saw Lexaeus nod back.

"You have a death wish..." Saïx hissed quietly. His one hand hung limply by his side, still holding on to his weapon. His other hand he used to rub him temple slightly.

Lexaeus merely responded by letting his Skysplitter rest on his one shoulder, getting into a fighting position. "It's a honor," he simply said.

Saïx let out earsplitting roar as the last of his briefly recovered sanity was snatched away from him. He charged towards the Silent Hero.

"Show me why you're second-in-command." Lexaeus waited for him. "Show me why he chose you."

* * *

**Aannnnd cliffhanger! One writer was killed in the making of this chapter - me. I am so glad I finally got to publish it. Things are getting interesting, are they not? Hope you enjoyed!**


	8. The legend of the past

The first time their weapons clashed, a shockwave was created. It spread out from the two Nobodies, making an even dent in the walls, a sign of the tremendous strenght of both Saïx and Lexaeus. The Silent Hero and the Luna Divinar both stood their ground firmly, both putting pressure on their weapons to push the other one back. However, Lexaeus simply yielded, taking a step back to let Saïx attack again. Patiently, the larger Nobody blocked every swing and stab that came from Lunatic, but Saïx was surprisingly quick too, and Lexaeus found himself struggling ever so slightly to keep up with him. He stayed defensive, however, seeking to tire the angry second-in-command.

Saïx was now circling around him, and pounching occasionally, like an angry wolf. Lexaeus kept blocking him, waiting for the opportune moment. He stayed true to his element, letting the attacker come to him. After a while, it finally came. An opening. Saïx charged again, having figured that if he could not push the Silent Hero back, he could definitely try to slam him through a floor or two. He gave a loud yell as he jumped into the air, his claymore held high above his head, ready to strike down Lexaeus. The larger Nobody, however, had been waiting for just that – for Saïx to get off the ground.

"Get back!" Lexaeus all but boomed. Quicker than anyone could have expected from someone as large and still as Lexaeus, the Silent Hero swung his Skysplitter around. It connected with Saïx middle, sending him flying back with a pained grunt. But it wasn't a mere distance of a few feet. The blow had been so extremely powerful, and Saïx was literally sent flying out of the castle's opening, all the way across the abyss that seperated the Castle That Never Was from the Dark City, where he crashed into everything that came in his way, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

Lexaeus emerged from a portal a little distance away from where Saïx had finally skidded to a halt. A great deal of the ground had been ripped up in a trail that lead up to the still form. But if Lexaeus had thought that the Luna Divinar had been knocked unconscious, he was sorely mistaken. Saïx' eyes opened, focusing sharply on the first thing he saw, which was Kingdom Hearts. The strangely powerful glow was reflected in his eyes as he slowly turned on his stomach and brought himself to his feet with crampy movements. Lexaeus could have sworn that he heard Saïx growl occasionally. Finally, when Saïx was standing again, yellow, sharp eyes flashes dangerously as he once again spotted Lexaeus. Oh, it was amazing how much promise of murder there could be in one gaze.

"Not a wise move," Saïx hissed quietly. He summoned Lunatic from wherever he had dropped it during his little trip from the castle. Kingdom Hearts continued to shine down on him, empowering him more and more. Lexaeus frowned. If Saïx stayed out in the moonlight, he was very likely to keep on fighting, and getting stronger and faster as it went. Not a wise move indeed. He would have to finish it quickly, then.

"Kingdom Hearts is the heart of my power," Saïx growled. "You're in my zone now." A wicked grin.

Lexaeus nodded silently, before he changed his stance to one of attacking. All in, it was.

* * *

Luxord brought a hand up to cover his mouth, doing his best to seal it tightly. But it didn't work. Next thing he knew, he was banging the ball of his other fist repeatedly against the hard wall of one of the many hallways he had been hiding in. It helped in the burning sensation that had suddenly appeared in his palm. It was like holding his hand above a lit candle! The hand on his mouth was doing its best to reduce the screaming he wanted to let out to a muffled groan. Finally, when sweat was on his brow and black spots were dancing on his vision, did the pain stop. When he was calm again, he removed the glove from the hand in question. The moment he did see what had happened, however, he nearly dropped the glove to the floor. Indeed, it even _looked _like he had been holding his palm above a lit candle. A big, round area of his palm was looking badly scorched, presenting itself as a... black spot.

Luxord cursed under his breath, and, out of stupid curiosity, poked around the area with his left hand. The pain had subsided quickly, leaving only tenderness around the edges in its wake. He put on his glove again, making to move on until he heard it again. That music box, playing the soft and sad melody. And even though it was quiet, the sound echoed off the almost labyrinthic hallways. But he could hear it. Clear as the daylight that never reached the World That Never Was. Straightening his back to get out of the slightly hunched over position, he listened. It was coming from... everywhere. Luxord carefully walked the last distance down his particular hallway, wanting to peek around the corner. It could be coming from there, but if it was at least clear, he could go down that way. He made sure to stay as silent as possible. Finally, he took a deep breath and carefully looked around the corner.

Of course he shouldn't have done that.

The music suddenly stopped.

There was a loud crack -which would have given Luxord a heart attack, had he only a heart – and the almost concrete material of the corner, right next to Luxord's face, shattered into small splinters and dust. He fell back with an outcry, bringing his 'good' hand up to his face to ease the pain that had exploded there. He was bleeding somewhere around his cheekbone, he was sure of it. He removed his hand and, once again, slowly felt around the area on his left cheek. Yes, very tender and possibly lacerated area, right there. Luxord ducked into yet another hallway, knowing that his earlier position had been exposed. When he felt that he was far enough away from the enemy, he stayed in the shadows, trying to calm his breath while wiping the blood off his cheek.

_Thump... clonk... thump...clonk... thump... clock_

The sound of agonizingly slow footsteps made Luxord's breath catch in his throat. Boots? Sort of, but it sounded off. Uneven. He frowned.

"And you said you weren't a coward..!" The now too familiar accented voice called out. It was loud and mocking, echoing off every wall just like the music. He was trying to lure him out. But Luxord stayed quiet, his back against the wall, having to resort to just clenching his fists instead. "Ye can't just put up a pity challenge and then run away like a coward, then. _Mutinous fouler._"

Luxord gritted his teeth.

"You know," the mocking continued, "if you challenge fate, you have to _deal_ with fate too. Face the consequences..."

"I already did," Luxord said before he could stop himself. He wasted no time and moved down another hallway to find a new hiding place. It had basically become a game of shadows by now.

There was a cold chuckle. "You can run, but you can't hide forever," Luxord's hunter said. "I found you here, did I not?"

"But you aren't real..." Luxord mumbled, knowing that he could hear him for some reason. "And so you have not found me." This discussion was getting bloody idiotic.

A scoff. "Still an arogant, slippery eel, I see..."

Luxord stayed quietfor some time, looking down. His excuse was that he was trying to see the outline of his boots. As of right now, he once again found himself hiding just around a corner. "I _was_ arogant," he said after some time, his eyes becoming sort of haunted. "I was practically undefeated. I had made a _life_ out of that."

_Clonk... thump... clonk_

There! Luxord's eyes became sharp with attention. The steps were coming from just around the corner he was hiding against, and his enemy was none the wiser. He had to end it quickly. Summoning a single card to his hand, he moved around the corner and threw it swiftly towards his target, who was indeed there. If he was lucky, Luxord might be able to kill him in one go. But there was another loud crack, and the card flew back as a bullet from a pistol connected with it. The smell of gunpowder reached Luxord's nose, but he didn't hesitate. He threw more cards at a time, seeking to overwhelm the adversary with too many targets to deflect. Instead of a loud bang at first, the sound of a sword being unsheathed reached his ears, and he could faintly see the cards being blocked and brought down by a cutlass, before there was finally another roaring boom from the pistol, which was now aimed at Luxord. He barely had time to swat the bullet away with the cards fanned out in his hand, but he managed. It saved him a bullet wound to the throat.

How was he able to fire bullets from a pistol so rapidly? It was uncanny!

Luxord brushed the thought aside, and threw the cards, which had just saved his life. But instead of firing them directly at the enemy, he threw them randomly at the wall at just the right angle, watching them ricochet and rebound towards the target. His attacker was now having much more trouble to avoid Luxord's cards, but he kept up very well, and the ones that did seem to hit, were ignored. Finally, Luxord took advantage of the added effort, and infused the hidden card in his other hand with a fire-spell, more powerful than the one he'd used to light the candle in the kitchens. He threw it directly at his attacker, stopping to see his attention shift towards that one card. The pistol was brought up in front of him quickly, and the card was hit with a bullet before exploding. It lit up the dark hallway for a few seconds, something that Luxord welcomed, before it died down. The area, where his enemy had stood, was sure to be looking completely destroyed under all the blinding smoke. Luxord breathed a sigh of relief, only now noticing how his breath had slowly turned into wheezing as he had attacked and attacked. He'd wanted to hit directly with that exploding card, but this seemed to have been sufficient enough.

"Two can play that game, mate..."

Several bullets suddenly flew from the thick smoke, but not directly at Luxord. Like the dark voice had said, two could play that game – the bullets were aimed at the walls close to Luxord, also bouncing off and towards the Gambler himself, and Luxord quickly had to summon cards to his hands to be able to swat the bullets away again, sometimes having to shift a single card in between his index finger and thumb to throw it towards a bullet instead. It was a good thing he was a sleight-of-hand. However, sometimes he wasn't fast enough, and had to physically move out of the way, which he wasn't too fast at either, allowing some of the bullet to nick and rip his sleeves.

Once again, he shifted a card to a throwing position, and infused it with a fire-spell, about to throw it. It was as if time had slowed down, and without his own will. He had to get it right this time. The card had only just left his now outstretched arm, as Luxord discovered that the attacker's pistol had changed angle, now aiming directly towards him again.

And then it all suddenly returned to normal speed.

Luxord knew what was going to happen the instant he saw the card and the bullet heading towards eachother. However, the bullet traveled much faster, and Luxord had little time to throw himself the floor before the card exploded violently too close to him.

* * *

Lexaeus let out a grunt as he pushed Saïx back again. The second-in-command was only getting stronger and faster in the moonlight, but Lexaeus attacking was something to be very aware of too. Not that Saïx really cared right now. By now, most of the buildings around their little battlefield now had several cracks, dents and other damages, a clear sign of the battle going on between perhaps two of the most physically strong in the entire Organization.

Saïx growled, bringing his claymore down on the ground to create another shockwave, once again forcing Lexaeus to put down his heels, digging Skysplitter into the ground in front of him to stay where he was. But the force was great, and he scooted back a few feet, his weapon tearing up the ground as he was still holding on to it. This wasn't working. Lexaeus knew that he would be forced to do other things than just attack and block. It was a tiring procedure, but Saïx had a source of constant energy. He saw the Luna Divinar charage towards him again, having walked in circles around himself just a few seconds earlier. At some level, the calm and collected second-in-command was still fighting for control, Lexaeus supposed. The Silent Hero closed his eyes in deep concentration, hearing Saïx near him with a roar.

"Forgive me, Saïx," Lexaeus mumbled before his eyes shot open. He was still holding on to Skysplitter, embedded in the ground still, as he lifted one foot up to knee-height. Well, _his_ knee-height. "Enough!" He boomed, and brought his foot down again, putting as much force he could behind it.

The ground literally rippled and shook violently, making the entire Dark City rumble and shift, as Lexaeus had now set an earthquake off. The buildings around them started to become undone, and debris and large chunks of concrete fell from different heights around Saïx. The yellow-eyed Nobody's attention shifted from getting to Lexaeus to rid himself of the danger that was now coming from the buildings. He brought his claymore up and around, destroying several chunks of concrete quickly. But they kept coming, and the Dark City kept shifting and rumbling.

Lexaeus stood idly by, knowing that Saïx was too distracted to go for him now. He stayed in the clear of the tall buildings, watching how Saïx almost enjoyed having something else to take his tremendous anger out on. He was nearly everywhere, dodging and destroying heavy debris and parts of buildings as they fell. It was getting hard to see him in the dust and increasing number of falling things. The last thing Lexaeus saw, was Saïx manically tearing through a large window before the dust was practically a storm, and one of the buldings finally crumbled completely over where Saïx was. Lexaeus covered his face to protect himself against the dust and small particles that blew his way.

* * *

_"Number VII, Saïx, The Luna Divinar has through hard work, strength and intelligence now become my official second in command," Xemnas pronounced simply from his throne in the Round Room, also known as Where Nothing Gathers._

_Several murmurs and whispers erupted, especially between the original members. Vexen looked as sour as Vexen could even be, and Zexion had automatically looked up at him to see his reaction. Xigbar said nothing, having probably already heard the news directly from Xemnas. It wasn't like Xigbar to be the jealous type anyway, nor did he have a reason to be. It just meant more administrative work for Saïx, plus Xigbar was Number II. No matter what, he'd be somewhat close to the Superior. Willingly or not. The Freeshooter just sat there, his arms folded, glancing up at Xemnas._

_Lexaeus and and Xaldin exchanged looks, but Lexaeus said nothing out of respect. After all, Saïx was sitting right next to him, even though the thrones were fairly far apart. Also, if Xemnas had deemed Saïx worthy of becoming a second-in-command, it could only be because he was right. He glanced over at the Luna Divinar, who bowed his head to the Superior respectfully._

_"Thank you, Superior," he said simply._

_Axel was sitting with his arms crossed too, a rather amazed, yet satisfied, look on his face, as he looked over at his friend. Lexaeus frowned slightly at Axel's smirk. It seemed rather out of place for someone who, unlike Xigbar, always had some sort of reason to be jealous. But the two of them had seemed to be friends when they entered the Organization. The Silent Hero closed his eyes in thought. If only Axel knew what a great rift the position Saïx had now accomplished could make in a so-called friendship..._

* * *

A great roar brought Lexaeus out of his thoughts and he removed his arms from his face as the dust cleared. The sound, however, didn't come from in front of him. It came from above. Lexaeus let out a surprised grunt as he spotted Saïx on top of one of the buildings that had survived the earthquake. There he stood, a small sillhouette in front of the great Kingdom Hearts, eyes practically blazing along with the moonlight. It was almost uncanny. He had actually survived _and _escaped the continuous onslaught of falling buildings, and actually placed himself on top of a new one. With the speed that Saïx could suddenly master, it wasn't surprising to imagine him just running up the side of it, which is probably what he'd done.

He had somehow managed to hold on to his Lunatic, or perhaps summon it to his position again. His coat, however, was torn up badly, and his hair was of course messed. Anything else would have been weird. Lexaeus could sense the glare Saïx was sending him even from the top of a building. Rage was practically radiating off him in waves, Lexaeus could feel it. If he had any other thought, it was immediately cut off, because Saïx had now jumped from the building, head first, in an impressive dive that was headed straight down towards Lexaeus. Lunatic glinted dangerously in the moonlight, being held close to Saïx' body to ensure maximum speed. If that impact made anything as strong as the other shockwaves...

Lexaeus brought up his weapon just as Saïx flipped in the air and brought his weapon down. The shockwave of their combined hits presented itself as blue energy, that rippled out and practically knocked over the remaining buildings around them in a storm of destruction. However, Saïx had had the advantage of gravity, and therefore momentum, and Lexaeus found himself knocked back by the force. Saïx didn't stop there, no. He continued his attacking-streak the moment his feet touched the ground.

First hit. Lexaeus blocked. Barely.

Second hit. Skysplitter was knocked violently out of his hands.

Third hit. Lunatic connected with his brought chest, sending him flying back into knocked over building, with a pained grunt. He was practically unable to move now.

Saïx advanced on him slowly, dragging Lunatic on the ground after himself. The sound was an ugly one of metal scraping against stone. Lexaeus sat still, watching the Luna Divinar. He noticed how his one sleeve was almost torn all the way off, and how the hem of the coat was tattered and stained. He noticed how blood was running down Saïx' face, giving him an even more savage look than he'd already gotten from their battle. He supposed he didn't look much better himself. Finally, Saïx stopped in front of him pointing the claymore directly at Lexaeus' chest.

The Silent Hero bowed his head, accepting defeat. Saïx was indeed worthy of being the Superior's right hand.

There was a loud clinking as Saïx let go of his Lunatic. Lexaeus looked up in surprise. Saïx pulled his outstretched arm back, now empty-handed, and let it rest by his side. He looked Lexaeus directly in the eye, something strange in his own. Lexaeus looked past him to see the light of Kingdom Hearts being overshadowed with clouds. As the light from their great moon faded out, so did the savage glow in Saïx' eyes. His eyes were soon tired and weary instead. He was still just looking at Lexaeus.

It was another thing Saïx was apparently capable of, Lexaeus thought. Not the fact that he could control his rage to this point. Not the fact that he was very capable of defeating Lexaeus on his own.

Mercy.

Saïx was apparently capable of _mercy_.

"Saïx..." Lexaeus tried.

But Saïx said nothing, and had no chance to do so either, because his tired eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he simply just tipped over backwards to collapse on the unforgiving ground.

Lexaeus stared at the unconscious Nobody, realizing only now that he could have actually died if Saïx had not spared him. A small smile played on his lips. He was worthy of so many other things that just being a second-in-command, Lexaeus thought. But right now, he had to get them both some help.

* * *

Luxord's eyelids fluttered as he slowly came to. Feeling returned to his fingers and toes, and the smell of fire and smoke reached his nostrils. It wasn't a dream, he wasn't foolish enough to hope for that. What bothered him was the fact that he was lying on his back instead of his stomach. When had that happened? Not that he wasn't grateful. Anything else would have hurt too much. One hand was resting on his stomach, the fingers slowly twitching.

Where was that bastard? He turned his head from side to side, seeing no other person in the hallway with him. He.. got rid of him this time around?

He suddenly heard quick footsteps, and saw a figure running towards him. "Luxord!" Xigbar's voice called out. And, sure enough, Xigbar soon emerged from the darkness at the edge of Luxord's vision, and kneeled next to him. "You okay?"

"I am... fine..." Was all Luxord could say. He noticed how Xigbar was holding on to that old-fashioned pistol that had been used against him. He noticed how Xigbar hadn't helped him up just yet too.

"Good," Xigbar said, not even checking him over. "What happened?"

"I'm..." Luxord frowned, and the arm resting on his stomach quickly lashed upwards, sending the card he had suddenly summoned directly towards Xigbar's face. They were close to eachother, and the force of the throw allowed the card to embed itself into Xigbar's skull, snapping the string that held his eye-patch in place. Xigbar scrambled back with a pained scream, and Luxord had no chance to wonder about the mystery that was behind the eye-patch, before Xigbar's voice once again turned dark and raw. He was clutching his head, but the blackness had already surrounded the body of Luxord's assailant, and he soon disappeared into the shadows once more. He had dropped the pistol right next to Luxord.

"I'm not an idiot.." Luxord finished. He began the process of getting up from the floor. It was slow and very painful, but his playmate was apparently not done with him, so he had to move on. This night was going to be a whole lot more difficult than initially thought. He could still feel the tenderness in his palm as he picked up the pistol. A sudden wave of dizziness washed over him, and he supported himself against the wall. His side... It was practically burning... As well as his lungs. But he had to move on.

* * *

"Put him on the examination table over there," Vexen instructed, gesturing towards said table. Demyx nodded and put the unconscious Roxas down carefully. Some blood from the back of the Keyblade Wielder's head was smeared on Demyx' one sleeve after he had carried him to the lab.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Demyx asked worriedly, before he spotted Zexion too. "Hey! When did you get back?"

"Not long ago," Zexion said simply. He was staring out of one of the small windows, not seeing anything. His senses were completely focused on his nose.

"I cannot tell for sure yet," Vexen said in answer to the original question. He had found some bandages, and was examining the wound in Roxas' head closely. Number XIII didn't really react to having been moved around or being examined. "It looks like a grade 3 concussion, perhaps even a skull fracture." His voice was quick, but calm. He used a pen-light to shine into Roxas' eyes patiently.

"Skull fracture?" Demyx practically shrieked.

"What is going on out there?" Vexen demanded,not looking at Demyx. He was focusing on the work at hand.

"I don't really know," Demyx said dumbly. "We were just, you know, patrolling the area, and then we kinda bumped into Saïx..."

"And?" Vexen asked sharply.

"... And he attacked us!"

Vexen arched an eyebrow. "Saïx attacked you?"

"Yeah, he was completely out of control!" Demyx sputtered. Zexion said nothing, having already guessed what had happened.

"It was the sound we heard before," Zexion remarked dully.

Vexen rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. He would have rubbed his temple, but the bandage around his head stopped him from doing just that. "Fantastic," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let's hope that Lexaeus was able to take care of that."

Zexion turned around to look at the two other Nobodies. "The smell of blood has increased significantly. Also, I smell smoke and gunpowder," Zexion said, looking at Vexen. His gaze quickly changed to the doorway, however, because Marluxia and Larxene had entered the lab, Marluxia supporting more on Larxene than he would have liked. He sent a slight glare at Vexen, knowing that the scientist would have loved to see him like this, but Vexen didn't comment. He was still too wrapped up in trying to stop the gentle bleeding from the back of Roxas' head.

Zexion glanced slightly at Vexen before looking back at Marluxia. He gestured towards the couch.

"When did you get here?" Marluxia said suspiciously. "Is Xaldin here too?"

"You should sit down, Marluxia," Zexion said, helping Larxene with her heavy burden. Finally Marluxia was seated on the couch, letting out a few pained grunts and curses. "You need to rest. I'll get you some Ethers too..." He went to some shelves, where he knew some Ethers were stored.

"Where _is _Lexaeus?" Vexen finally snapped, in the middle of the process of bandaging Roxas' head gently, but just as tight as it needed to be.

"He's in the Dark City," Zexion said, having followed his scent for some time. "With Saïx." He didn't say anymore. He handed Marluxia two Ethers, and the Graceful Assassin nodded in thanks. Larxene had practically thrown herself on the couch next to him. She looked around.

"So everyone's just here?" She said, slight annoyance in her voice.

"Not everyone," Marluxia said calmly. He downed the first Ether. "Look."

And Larxene looked and saw that they were indeed missing some people. "Where's Xigbar? And Luxord? And - "

"They're still out there somewhere, being completely irresponsible," Vexen mumbled, cutting Larxene off. The two of them were doomed to get hurt in some way, apart or not.

* * *

"Where the hell did you go, you idiot?" Xigbar mumbled under his breath, following the direction he was suspecting Luxord to have gone from the kitchen. He couldn't have gone past him, he would have noticed that. Also, the darkness seemed to be following him around, and it annoyed the hell out of him. That old coot was still following him after all these years.

"_Maybe he went that way?_" The shadows whispered, chuckling slightly

Xigbar clenched his fist around the Sharpshooter he had summoned again. It annoyed the hell out of him that the intruder seemed rather reluctant to attack him just yet. It was just messing with him instead. He would have prefered the fighting.

"_Or maybe he's already dead..._"

He had been walking for a good five or ten minutes, trying his best to just ignore the tauntings. If they weren't going to at least fight him, he sure as hell wasn't going to pay attention to them. Just as he thought that the voices were finally starting to die down, he noticed the shadows starting to gather in front of him, taking form of a person yet again. Xigbar raised his gun, ready to fire of that old coot was suddenly going to be aggressive or something. But it wasn't him this time.

He noticed, the moment the figure looked taller. The moment he saw grey pants, a grey jacket, white gloves, a red scarf. A bandaged head, a wicked grin, and a yellow eye glowing back at himself.

Xigbar's one good eye widened, before he sent the other person a powerful scowl. A gun was pointed back at himself, mirroring Xigbar's pose almost perfectly, but more relaxed.

"How the hell..." Xigbar breathed out. "You're... me?"

"You know," Braig said in a laid back manner. "You're being surprisingly calm about this whole thing."

Xigbar finally managed to regain somewhat control of his movements again, having been in a stupor. He glared back at the enemy. "I've got somewhere else to be," he spat.

Braig waved a finger, clucking his tongue. "You may act calm, buddy, but I can practically feel your anger rising." He grinned, waving the gun lazily.

Xigbar scoffed. "Look, _kid_, it's a nice try and all, but I ain't falling for it," Xigbar said. "Xaldin's always on about that anger-thing, and I also know you're a fake so why listen to you? Now do me a favor and back the hell off. Wouldn't wanna trample you down or anything." He made to just walk by this imposter, not giving a damn.

"Remember how we used to hate him?" Braig said simply, lowering his gun. Xigbar stopped dead in his tracks. "How we really just wanted a small bit of respect from the dude?"

Xigbar looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Xehanort, man!" Braig exclaimed, putting a hand on his hip. "Hey, remember how he totally scared us at the same time? It was always weird. We came for the respect but stayed for the fear. Or maybe it was the other way around?"

"Shut up, will ya?" Xigbar snapped, feeling his muscle shake with irritation.

"And he was seriously just using us, right? Didn't he? I mean, no offense, but the old man wasn't exactly father figure-material."

"Kid..." Xigbar looked down, trying to make his hand stop shaking.

"Im sure he was fond of us at _some_ point," Braig offered. "But he definitely couldn't care less sometimes. Especially when-" he pointed at his bandaged face - "he made sure that we got _this_. We really were just the underdogs, huh? Especially when he had that ass, Vanitas. And that other one." He silently raised his gun to shoot.

Xigbar shot first, having known that the idiot would try to shoot him the moment he seemed distracted. Kid was still green. He shot him several times in the chest, enjoying every sound of bullets tearing through flesh and bone. He stopped shooting when the form – quite predictably – merged back into the shadows, ready to come back another time.

"If you show up again, I _will_ kill you," he said to the empty hallway. "For everything you've done." He continued down another hallway. Was that smoke he smelled?

* * *

_Forty fathoms deep he walks_

_With rust keys his locker locks_

_Like he's half asleep he stalks_

_At forty_ _fathoms deep_

Luxord was holding on to the pistol for dear life, his footsteps echoing off the halls. He noticed how he was losing balance quite often. What was wrong with him? He had to stay calm. The hallway he'd reached by now was filled with doors, which meant that an attack could possibly come from every direction now. But he had to find him and put him down. He couldn't keep running from him. Could he? He opened the nearest door, manically humming slightly to himself quietly. There was nothing.

_Forty fathoms deep he owns_

_Each sleeping sailor's soggy bones_

_The legend they call..._

".. The legend they call..." Luxord couldn't even utter his name. It wasn't because he had forgotten. No, he knew very well the name that played on his lips. It made him a coward, not even being able to name his fear out loud. A coward indeed. He shook his head, going to open the next to, quick but carefully, ready to shoot if anything happened.

"So you did give more of a challenge than last time," the voice said, once again coming from everywhere. Luxord froze, trying to figure out where it came from. It seemed impossible. "Bravo. But it still wasn't good enough. It never will be..."

"And yet you're the one hiding now," Luxord called out, "and I'm the one hunting you."

"Hah!" The voice spat, making Luxord jump slightly where he stood. The voice changed between being far away and near by. "I beg to differ."

"Is that so?" Luxord said, going to the next door. He kiced it open this time, using some newly found irritation that had started to well deep inside him. He ignored the pain in his side and all the new bruises he had received from the explosion. It wasn't safe, but if felt damn good to finally do something. He was done with just being hurt and helpless.

There was a dark chuckle. Luxord could smell smoke again. But it wasn't from the explosions and fire-spells. It was from a pipe again. "You think," the voice said, "that just because you're a few years older, you're suddenly better than you were back then? Pathetic. You're not wiser nor any braver. You're trying to follow and defeat me, knowing you have no way of doing so. Because you're weak, mate. What is it that a bilge rat like you trying to prove, hmm? And to whom exactly?"

Luxord kicked open another door behind which he could have sworn the voice was coming from. It was also a way for him to vent the irritation. Nothing. This was getting ridiculous. "Sometimes, you just have to take a gamble," Luxord bit out, answering the question.

"Just what got you in this whole predicament..."

"No, you did!" Luxord yelled.

"No," the voice said on an almost soothing voice, as if it wanted Luxord to calm down. "It was you. Your curiosity. Your everlasting curiosity, Luxord."

Luxord shivered slightly as he reached the last door. He did not like to hear his name coming from that monster's mouth. He had no right!

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," the onslaught of mocking continued.

Luxord chuckled. End of the row, last chance. "Curiosity never killed the cat, _Jones_," he finally said, feeling a strange form of freedom by finally saying it. "Never. Some unspeakable horror did."

He kicked open the last door, and a powerful wind mixed with dark shadows stormed through the doorway. He brought up his arms in front of him to protect his head, bringing down his heels to keep his balance. The wind blew past him, making a horrible screeching noise. The wind traveled to the end of the hallway where Luxord had started out, slowly taking the form of Jones again. Luxord turned to face him.

He raised the pistol to take a longwaited shot, but the pistol was no longer in his hand. It had been there just before.

Jonas waved the pistol lazily, an evil glint in his eyes, were the only visibly in the darkened hallways. "Looking for this?" He laughed that dark laugh again. It was his time to raise the pistol and shoot, and so he did. Luxord closed his eyes.

* * *

"_Let go of me!" A panicked voice yelled, belong to a person thrashing wildly on the deck. Several hands were holding him, pressing him down on the wooden boards roughly, even making sure to press his face down for the fun of it. Rain was pouring down, and thunder was booming in the distance, sometimes lighting up the darkened scenary. "I said let go..!" Someone, or something, kicked him in the face, finally making him calm down. The rest of his body relaxed too, but raindrops still assaulted his beings. He was soaked by now. He was bruised, battered and exhausted. He was losing feeling in his fingers from the cold._

* * *

_The sudden pain in his chest was agonizing. It was nothing antyhing he'd felt before. No sound came from him. It was all stuck where the cutlass had gone through him. Eventually, only gurgling noises came out, followed by blood. All he could do was stare with wide eyes. He couldn't even stand on his own, yet alone just feel his limbs. The only thing keeping him up were the arms that were still holding on to his tightly, strongly keeping him where he was._

"_To the depths with him..."_

* * *

Luxord opened his eyes again, feeling the weight of the card-piles he'd now summoned to each hand. Each had held a good worth of about four decks. He threw them all up in the air, watching them gain lives of their after after having descented gently for a mere second or two. The started flying about on their own, fluttering everywhere and bouncing off walls and floors. The bullet Jones had fired didn't come close to him since several cards were in it's path by now. It was like a storm had suddenly started in the hallway, giving the cards a lift and making them fly about chaotically. It surrounded them both.

Luxord slowly started walking, and the cards calmly let him pass. He received no cuts from them. Jones fired again, but the cards kept blocking, coming to their master's rescue every single time. Even when the bullets were just inches from his face, the timing of the cards were perfect. Luxord kept walking, looking Jonas in the eye the entire time. He was determined now. He knew he couldn't defeat him with pure strength, no. But he could at least somehow send me away.

When he was finally close enough to Jones, he stopped. Jones had stopped firing long time ago, waiting for Luxord to come to him. He would let him say what he had to say. Luxord took a deep breath, ready to utter the words that he had regretted so many times. The words that had practically killed him. The words that had sealed his fate so long ago.

"Davy Jones," Luxord said, his fists clenching, "I challenge you to a game of fortune."

* * *

**This chapter is way overdue, and I know it sucks, but here it is! Sorrysorrypleasedontkillme.**


	9. Equilibrium

The smell of smoke grew nearer as Xigbar moved further down the hallway. What had happened here? By the looks of it, it seemed that there had been several explosions, leaving the halls rather ruined. Soot, smoke, indents, holes and scratches on walls and floors were the perfect signs that a battle had been going on. But between who? If Luxord had really gone this way, then he had to have been involved, Xigbar considered. The big question, however, was about who he had to have been fighting.

Xigbar continued down the hall, following the trail of destruction. The Gambler totally needed to start wearing a tracker if he was going to keep on getting in trouble. Not that Xigbar minded the possibility of privacy, but this castle was way too big for thirteen people and miscellaneous Lesser Nobodies.

Finally, he heard a noise from yet another direction. It sounded like a struggle, and he thought that he might have heard Luxord's voice. But he wasn't sure. Summoning one of his Sharpshooters, Xigbar slowly and silently neared the sounds, ready to pull the trigger.

* * *

Lexaeus had only just managed to regain enough energy to get up from the ground. He didn't know exactly for how long he had been unable to move because of Saïx' wrath, but he guessed about thirty minutes. Saïx was still out cold on the ground, just a few feet away from him. Just as Lexaeus had started to consider getting them both back to the castle, a portal opened, revealing Xaldin with a curious look on his face. True, he had been looking for Xigbar before he had felt a disturbance in the air, and tracked it to the city. He decided that the Freeshooter would have to wait for a few moments. After all, he was able to take care of himself.

"What in the world has happened here?" He said with an arched eyebrow. He looked about ready to summon at least one lance. His eyes scanned the destruction in the entire area, finally coming to rest on Lexaeus himself after a short glance at Saïx.

"He lost control," Lexaeus explained simply, nodding towards the Luna Divinar. "And then he regained it. How long have you been back?"

"It doesn't matter," Xaldin said, waving an arm dismissively. He went over to the larger Nobody, ready to support him. "We must get you back inside before the Heartless appear. Though you seem to have scared them all away with this battle of yours."

"I'm able to walk," Lexaeus said matter-of-factly. It wasn't meant in a defying way, he genuinely was able to walk by himself. He was a quick healer, sometimes able to steal the life force from the earth itself if it was needed. Though the concrete ground in the Dark City made it rather difficult. "You should help Saïx instead." He nodded towards the still unconscious Nobody.

"... Tested your strength against the second-in-command, did we?" Xaldin said as he went over to get Saïx off the ground. He threw him over his shoulder easily. "Did you see Xigbar?"

"I'm fairly sure that he's still inside," Lexaeus said. He sensed that Xaldin was in a sort of hurry to figure out where Xigbar was. Yes, the three of them – with their shared military experience – were able to take care of themselves, sure, but Xigbar had an unusual habit of getting into said trouble, during which he was able to take care of himself. "Let me bring Saïx to medical assistance. You go find Xigbar."

Xaldin nodded, noticing how small, yellow eyes had started to appear in the darkness. Heartless were approaching. The light from Kingdom Hearts, which was still the only thing illuminating the city, poked out from behind a few clouds. He shifted Saïx weight, handing him over to Lexaeus, who also accepted him with ease.

"You should seek medical care too," Xaldin said, letting a portal swallow him up.

* * *

Cruel laughter echoed in the hallways, going on for an unreasonably long time. It was the sound of something laughing at something ridiculous and pathetic. A mocking laughter. Luxord kept on a blank expression as Jones practically laughed directly into his face. This... monster might have found it humorous, but Luxord was actually dead serious.

"You finally face me," Jones started out, his voice suddenly dark and harsh, "and you choose to spend your last moments with silly games?"

Luxord nodded, still looking his enemy in the eyes. "I do."

Jones scoffed loudly, taking a dangerous step closer. He was now standing as close to the Gambler as he did when he'd revealed himself to him in the kitchen for the first time that night. Luxord wanted with all of his non-existing heart to turn on his heel and run away, but he stopped himself. The disgusting tantacles that made up Jones' beard came to live, twitching and searching towards Luxord's face like they were trying to _feel_ him. "What makes you think that I want to accept that challenge of yours?" Jones asked, the tentacles pulling back as he seemed to have made up his mind. "I could just kill you where you stand. You look like you can hardly stand."

Indeed, Luxord did not feel well. His side was burning to a point where it almost felt numb and cold instead, and he was still feeling incredibly breathless. His vision was occasionally swimming, and he knew that his gait was getting wobblier and more unsteady as time went by. Why _shouldn't_ Jones just kill him where he stood? He was ready to drop.

"It's a challenge," Luxord said. "I don't remember you to be without at least a speck of honor. You must accept, if only to grant me a last wish."

Jones chuckled. "Right you are, mate." He put the gun back in the belt with rather threatening movements. For a brief moment, Luxord could only think about the smell of smoke – the smell of tobacco – and he had to laugh on the inside at his own lousy sense of humor.

"So you accept?" Luxord dared after some time. He tried to breathe calmly through his nose instead, but it was no use. The air still seemed too thin, and his chest felt constricted yet. Why was he having so much trouble with the simple act of breathing?

Jones nodded, a murderous look in his eyes. "Your conditions, whelp?"

Luxord's gaze hardened. "You will leave this place," he said sternly. "You will leave this castle, this city and this world. You will not haunt me or the other members of Organization XIII anymore. You will accept that you have already gotten what you want from me, and stay in your own world..."

"If you win, that is," Jones finished for him. He chuckled darkly. "And if you _lose_? What will you do then?"

"State your terms," Luxord simply said, but he didn't get to say anymore because Jones had quickly put his hands – or the closest thing that he came to having hands – on each of Luxord's shoulders and pushed him back against the wall roughly.

"I'll take everything. Your heart, your soul, your mind. I'll kill you," he hissed in his ear. "Slowly or swiftly? No matter, I'll figure that out when I win, of course..."

The darkness came closer, surrounding them both, and suddenly Luxord found himself in some sort of void. There was no weight, and it felt like he was simply just floating in pure nothingness. For a brief moment, he wondered if he had simply just died, faded and gone elsewhere. But even though he felt light, he could still feel the familiar sense of life inside him. He was wrong before, when he'd thought that there was no weight. Life was still weighing down on his shoulders, preventing him from just floating away, and slowly making him descend. It was still dark. However, the more he descended a faint light came closer. Not bright, and certainly not clear. He would have to admit that he cringed slightly as his feet finally touched down on a solid surface.

"Nowhere to run..." Jones said ominously, having somehow appeared right in front of him.

"I did not intend to," Luxord remarked. He lifted his one hand, palm upwards, and a normal-sized deck of cards appeared in it. Something felt strange when he moved. Like his arms were just as light as his entire being had been mere seconds ago. All the cards in the deck floated out into the air between the two, shuffling themselves. Neither Jones or Luxord took their eyes off each other, doing their best to glare daggers at the other.

"I'll let you choose what you want to play," Jones said. "Just to make it fair."

"I would not have it otherwise," Luxord retorted sarcastically. The cards stopped shuffling themselves, and three cards placed themselves in the air between the Gambler and his enemy, face down. Four more cards left the deck, and Luxord and Jones suddenly had two cards each resting right in front of them, also face down. "Let the game begin."

It was like time itself skipped a beat, leaving only the most tense of silence to dominate the strange place they were, before the cards in front of Luxord stood up in the air, revealing their worth to him, but hiding it from everything else. The cards in front of Jones had stood up too, and the three cards in the middle had automatically been flipped over too, revealing the ace of diamonds, the six of spades and the queen of spades. Jones, who had been looking at his own cards, took a look at the cards between them. He smirked, or at least something that came close to doing it.

"Nice to see you're honest enough not to cheat," he mocked.

"I do not cheat," Luxord practically hissed. "Cheating takes away the risk of the game. There would be no point in making a gamble if you know you're going to win."

"An honest man," Jones answered. "But you won't be needing it where you are going. Living life, like you do, you should have been offed before I even came across you. Constantly putting yourself between life and death, mate. Thrilling, yes, but is it really a life?" He let out a cruel laugh again.

The accent bothered Luxord very much for some reason. He looked down at his cards, keeping his facial expression perfectly blank before letting the cards lie down face first again. Before he could even respond to what Jones had said, an uncomfortable tightness appeared in his chest. He brought a hand up there, gritting his teeth. What was that? It was like the air had been knocked out of him again. Strangely enough, his movements still felt light and... ghostly. When it had finally passed, he straightened himself the best he could. Jones wore a rather content smile on his face, but didn't say anything. Luxord held back a cough.

"You can still quit this game," Luxord offered to Jones' surprise. "You can leave now, and I'd even let you."

Jones scoffed. "Unless you wish to quit now, you arrogant _dog_, bring us the next card. Seal your fate further, if you will."

This time, it was Luxord's turn to scoff. It came out rather hollow, though. "As you wish," he simply said before snapping once with his fingers. A card flew from the deck, lining up with the three cards in the middle. This time it was the ten of spades. Luxord blinked slowly, feeling how his eyes threatened to stay shut. He thought about his own cards, hovering right in front of him. Then he looked at the cards in the middle again.

Ace of diamonds, six of spades and queen of spades...

And now the ten of spades. One last card to go, then.

Jones still looked too certain, and Luxord felt slight annoyance. Gambling with your own life was one thing, but taking so much joy in gambling with other people's lives? It was almost sick.

"Experiencing pain means that you're alive," Luxord suddenly said. He looked up and caught Jones' eye once again. However, Luxord felt very numb all over. "It's why you take risks sometimes. Not only is the risk itself thrilling, but the joy of winning or the dread of losing... It's proof that you have a..." He couldn't finish the sentence. It made no sense.

"In a world as cruel as this," Jones said after having glared at him for some time, "a so-called heart is the last thing a man needs. You're better off without it, I say! No pain. Nothing to stop you."

"So it's true," Luxord wondered out loud. "You really are heartless. A monster."

"Don't try to win yourself time by talking nonsense," Jones warned, sounding amused. "If I knew that you were only challenging me to forestall my final judgement, I would have just shot you down like a pidgeon."

"I forestall nothing," Luxord answered. "If it is my fate, then so be it. But we cannot know for sure yet.

"Then allow me," Jones said ominously. He waved his hand lazily, and the last card was flipped over, making Luxord doubt if it was himself or Jones who had brought them to this strange realm.

It was the ace of spades. The card of death, they called it. The original black spot.

A heavy silence fell over the both of them. Luxord's eyes had widened very slightly, and the hand that felt singed around his palm twitched. He couldn't hear his own breathing, until he realized that he had yet to exhale and did just that.

"I believe that this game has now reached its inevitable end," Jones said in a low voice. "Nice set of cards she has given us, do you not think so?"

"So it has," Luxord bit out. Victory hadn't been decided yet, though.

Once again, Jones waved his hand. His own two cards flipped over, revealing to Luxord the two of spades and king of spades. Combined with enough of the 'neutral' cards, Jones had a...

"Flush," Luxord mumbled, observing the cards. It was a good hand, Luxord had to admit. Worth so much, practically unbeatable. Strangely enough, Luxord was starting to feel cold. How was anyone going to overcome a combination of that sort? "Bravo."

"I believe I detect some fear from you," Jones mocked.

"I am a Nobody now," Luxord reasoned. "And just like it was your choice to quench your very emotions, Nobodies have been unwillingly stripped of theirs. True, we do feel pain and pleasure. Those are physical sensations. Just like you. You didn't know what blessings you had, Jones. Why, I find it rather foolish of you."

"You are in no position to speak your mind!" Jones boomed. The sudden loud voice made Luxord jump ever so slightly. When he spoke again, his voice had returned to a dangerously low tone again. "This game, your life, your _soul_ itself will go to me, unless you somehow manage to pull an ace out of your sleeve."

Luxord was silent for a while. "I wonder if I was a worthy opponent," Luxord said quietly. Jones eyed him, but said nothing. "Just a silly, little question to ask, before our ways part."

"You'll be leaving with me, mate," Jones said in exasperation. "Your words have stopped working the moment you challenged me once again."

"You're right," Luxord said. "But not about everything you say, though. Emotions can be so powerful that they threaten to destroy you in the end. But people are never better off without them. I'm not going to leave this castle with you, Jones. You will leave this castle on your own, as the loser. True, I don't have an ace up my sleeve, as you so well put it..."

Just like Jones, Luxord made a lazy movement with his one arm. His own two cards were flipped around, revealing the ace of clubs and the ace of hearts.

"... I have two."

Jones looked down at the newly revealed cards, his tentacly beard twitching and writhing in pure anger. Four of a kind beat a flush, obviously, only inferior to a straight flush and a royal flush. He glanced between Luxord's cards and his own, realization finally dawning on him.

"You have fooled me," he said sharply, swiftly drawing his cutlass from the scabbard, "you treasonous _defrauder_!"

"I have fooled no one!" Luxord exclaimed suddenly, holding up his hand to halt the almost advancing enemy. "This was a fair game, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You may leave this place now. You've lost, Jones. Leave." He waved a hand dismissively.

"I won't be doing that," Jones said, eyeing Luxord all over. There was something ominous, yet knowing, about the look on his face. "Death is already breathing down your neck, mate. You're already gone. You might as well come with me." He would have held out his hand for Luxord, had it not been holding the cutlass.

Luxord thought for a moment before he started talking again, quietly. "I believe, for the moment, that the choice is fully mine," he simply said.

"Not quite," Jones said, finally sheathing his cutlass again. "Mark my words, before this night is over, you shall have succumbed to my grip, for I am death. And I come for you. So tell me Luxord, the Gambler of Fate. Do you fear death?"

"That's what you are? A personification of death itself?" Luxord lifted an eyebrow, though he could feel more color drain from his face. His entire side was on fire now, not just around the ribs. Everything was burning, his lungs were struggling to suck in air, and when he finally did take deep enough breaths, it stung worse than actually receiving the broken ribs. But he stayed somewhat calm, though his voice was starting to grow shakier by the seconds. "Death is... not your enemy. It's fate. True, many people fear it because it's an end to life as they know it. It makes life so much more precious, though. It's a part of the balance. In my opinion, death is what makes people keep themselves alive. It is, however, inevitable. Not even the gods can stop fate itself. Death is always watching, is always with you. Sometimes, it's untimely. But respect death, and you will meet as friends when time does come. I'm not sure if I fear death like that. But I do not fear you. You are not death."

"I am the only thing standing between you and the afterlife!" Jones boomed. "And I should just send you there myself!"

"You?" Luxord exclaimed, feeling how he was lacking air in his lungs. "_You_ are an atrocious vigilante, with an agenda on his own, who was too frightened by a heart that was severely shattered. You are the coward, because you chose the coward's way out!"

Luxord knew he shouldn't have pushed his luck, but it needed to be said. Jones was seething by now. Something about him and the air just _clicked, _and Jones soon made his way swiftly through the floating cards, which evaporated into nothingness at the harsh contact. Luxord imagined that if they had been playing at a table, Jones would have practically thrown it aside. The Gambler's reaction was to scramble back and away from his enemy's fury, but Jones had simply just moved faster again. Once more, Jones ended up grabbing Luxord's collar and pushing him back, until his back finally hit something solid. Reality shifted in the blink of an eye, and Luxord was suddenly back in the darkened hallway of the Castle That Never Was, pressed against the wall, as if they had never left. Once again, it made Luxord wonder whether it was him or Jones who had brought them to the other place.

"You had the chance," Jones said dangerously low. "Now you must die without dignity."

Luxord didn't miss a beat, and moved to send a flurry of cards into the all too close face, but Jones quickly blocked his arm with his claw-like one, still holding onto Luxord's collar with the other. But the intruder didn't stop there. Before Luxord could try another move, he swiftly received a knee to his ribs.

The moment the knee made contact, Luxord knew it was all over.

The cracking and snapping sound was barely heard over the extreme pain he suddenly experienced. He doubled over without a sound – he had no air to make use of. Jones wasted no time, and quickly pushed him down to the floor. Light had practically exploded before Luxord's inner eye, and all he could do was to cough desperately before he could even consider trying to get up from the hard, unforgiving floor. The coughing added to the pain. The only sound Luxord could comprehend over the sound of his own suffering, was the metallic sound of Jones' cutlass being unsheathed again. His eyes widened, and he knew that he had to get up in order to defend himself, no matter how woozy he was feeling. He managed to roll over, biting back the now crippling pain. He finally made it to his palms and knees, making to rise further.

"Still _twitching_, are we?" Jones asked loudly. He brought out his boot with merciless force, hitting Luxord in the ribs one more time at just the right angle.

Once again, Luxord was down on the floor, curling up slightly. The kick had made the pain explode tenfold, and all he could see was _white, _though his eyes were wide open. His body was acting on its own by now, as Luxord was slowly just retreating into his own mind. He remembered trying to crawl away in the most pathetic manner, before yet another boot hit him in the stomach, once again leaving him lying slightly curled up on his side. At some point, he was turned around to lie on his back. Something pointy was touching the center of his chest, making Luxord try to somewhat concentrate on the situation.

Jones stood with his cutlass resting readily on Luxord's chest. The gambler's breathing had gone from a rather shaky, gasping one, to a weak wheezing sound. For a moment, it was the only sound in the hallways. Everything was excruciatingly painful, yet numb at the same time. The surroundings were spinning, even though Luxord now had trouble keeping his eyes open. The temperature seemed to have dropped significantly, and the Gambler of Fate was barely able to twitch his fingers.

"You're... not him..." Luxord choked out, not sure if Jones could hear him. But it wasn't Jones, Luxord was sure of it now. As he had mentioned earlier, the other wasn't without at least a speck of honor. His vision was starting to blacken. "Not him..."

"I am whatever you fear," Jones – or the imposter - said, his voice awfully calm. The cutlass at Luxord's chest poked a bit harder at the remark. "The darker parts of your mind and soul. Now go to the afterlife with that knowledge."

Luxord felt the tip of the blade being lifted, ready to be brought down once again for a killing blow. This had to be it, Luxord thought. He was going to die. The thoughts of no more pain ever again made Luxord want close his eyes completely in acceptance. But he was never run through by any sword. But the last pain never came. Instead there was the familiar sound of one of Xigbar's bullets tearing through its target, and Luxord saw a bullet fly through Jones' head, making it snap to the side. Jones didn't move. For a moment, Luxord thought that his enemy was going to move on with his task. But after a suspenseful second, the body of Davy Jones finally tipped over backwards and thudded limply to the hard floor.

Luxord tried to lift his head to get a better look, but it was too painful. A groan escaped his lips, but it was soon covered by the sound of approaching footsteps. Someone was in a hurry towards him.

"Luxord!" Xigbar's voice finally erupted somewhere next to his ear. Soon, someone, it had to be Xigbar, was gently slapping his cheek to wake him up, or see if he was responsive. "Lux, you okay?" He asked, finally removing his hands when the Gambler stirred once again with a groan.

Behind Xigbar, who was kneeling next to Luxord, the body of Davy Jones was slowly being swallowed by the shadows. The form returned to the dark. Luxord was able to open his eyes a bit to see that it was indeed Xigbar next to him.

"Xigbar..." Luxord whispered. He didn't have air for more. "Xigbar... Behind you..."

The horrible sound of metal tearing through flesh broke the silence, as the back of Xigbar's shoulder was cut open by something. The Freeshooter grunted in pain, throwing his head back for a second. Luxord felt something warm and wet drip on his face, and Xigbar had to put his one hand on the floor next to Luxord's head to avoid falling over completely. The gambler stared up at him, his eyes darting from the pained expression on Xigbar's face to the new wound in Xigbar's shoulder.

Luxord noticed that something – or someone, by the looks of it – had appeared behind Xigbar. It was too dark, and he was too dizzy, to get a good look at him. But it definitely had a human shape. It had the shape of an elderly, bald man, slightly hunched over. Luxord couldn't see his face, but yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. The person held some sort of weapon in his right hand, blood dripping from it.

"Braig," the person said in an old and hoarse voice, making Xigbar's eye widen. "You should have stayed out of this." There was something extremely threatening about the man's tone, though his voice was perfectly calm.

Xigbar glanced down at Luxord, who, by now, was frowning questionably back at him. He gave the Gambler a discreet, reassuring nod. I'll be right back, Xigbar seemed to have said, before he was suddenly gone, having teleported. He had only teleported a few steps away, now aiming at the man with a single gun, his other arm too injured to hold up a weapon. "You better be the last one left, man. Because I'm getting tired of killing you guys."

Luxord finally managed to raise himself up on an elbow, wanting to help the Freeshooter fight this person off. Something wet was running from the corner of his mouth, and he could taste metallic blood on his tongue. Another coughing fit brought him down on his back again.

Meanwhile, Xigbar had started firing at the attacker, but the bullets were being easily blocked by the mysterious weapon. Upon contact with the bullets, it gave a metallic clang. There was a dark chuckle from the elderly man, before he suddenly charged, trying to bring this sword-like weapon down on Xigbar's good shoulder in a downwards slash. Xigbar, however, teleported to behind the man and sent his elbow to the man's temple. After this new enemy had stumbled to the side, Xigbar wasted no time and shot him several times in the back. Luxord winced at the disgusting sound.

"Too slow this time, old coot!" Xigbar yelled, unsummoning his gun and grabbing his target by the throat, slamming him up against the wall. "I told you that if you showed that face of yours again, I'd kill you!" There was something wrong with Xigbar's tone, Luxord noticed. It was practically hysterical.

A dark chuckle came from the dark figure. Luxord turned his head slightly to the side to see what was going on. He could see Xigbar still holding the figure against the wall, but the weapon was being held against Xigbar's throat as well.

"Your anger was always very powerful," the old man said calmly, considering that he was supposed to be fatally injured by now. Luxord frowned. Xigbar knew this man? Who was he? Luxord could see the old man looking at him over Xigbar's shoulder. "But you shouldn't have interfered in a matter between him and his inner demons. Just like he will not be interfering in this." He pressed the weapon harder against Xigbar's throat.

"Xigbar..." Luxord tried, having found a little air. Xigbar ignored him, though.

"No need to," Xigbar sneered. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of you myself."

The old man let a vicious smirk grow on his face, making Xigbar frown. One slight movement from the old man's armed hand made the Freeshooter teleport to a safer distance, one of his Sharpshooters reappearing in his hand. He fired once again, hitting his mark every single time, and slowly stepping closer as he pulled the trigger over and over again. Luxord heard a loud clang as the mysterious weapon fell to the floor – he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Finally, when Xigbar was close enough, the Freeshooter threw his gun away angrily, and pounced. He knocked the both of them down, pinning the man to the floor. He punched him in the face once.

"You know that killing me is not going to solve anything, do you not?" The man croaked. He received another punch from Xigbar.

"Yeah," Xigbar spat. "You have a serious problem with just dying as it is. You're barely even fighting right now, why is that?" He readied his fist for another punch, as Luxord looked on in horror at Xigbar's savage behavior.

"This solves nothing," the old man croaked. "The storm inside of you will not cease once you get rid of me. It will cease once it chooses to, because you know you cannot stop it yourself. Not as you are now. You hold on to your anger towards me as a way to retain memories of emotions you do not have. Bravo, I say. For your anger is rather irresistable, _Braig_." He chuckled.

Luxord heard another punch. Then another. And one more. In fact, Xigbar kept hitting this person, even after he had stopped moving and no more sounds came from him except the sickening sound of a fist connecting with flesh and bone. Luxord looked up to see that Xigbar was indeed still hitting the now unmoving body, only pausing once in a while to catch his breath. This was... monstrous. He needed to stop him, the man was clearly already dead. Biting his lip, Luxord slowly tried to get up from the floor. The initial numbness had subsided a little, but the pain – sharp, crippling and throbbing – was still there. It took great effort, but he finally fought his way back to his feet. His knees were wobbly, his head was spinning and the fire was still burning in his lungs. The bandages that Larxene had helped him with earlier did nothing as of now. Slowly, Luxord limped his way over to Xigbar, who was still busy beating in the man's skull, and grabbed the Freeshooter's wrist.

"Xigbar," Luxord started out, trying to establish contact with him. Xigbar easily pulled his wrist out of the grip, ready to hit again. He was awfully quiet. "Xigbar, stop! He's already - " Xigbar suddenly sent an elbow to Luxord's guts, cutting him off mid-sentence and knocking the air out of him. Luxord stumbled back, barely keeping his balance and clutching his middle. He leaned against the wall for support. Needless to say that Xigbar had successfully caused Luxord more pain. He turned his head to look over at Xigbar, and his eyes widened. The strange ominous feeling had returned, making the hallways seem to warp and spin. And Xigbar... There was something intense about looking directly at Xigbar, something very frightening. It made Luxord freeze completely, and he didn't even know what it was. But looking at Xigbar right there and then caused him great discomfort. The more he looked at him, the more intense the sensation got. It was like he wasn't looking at Xigbar anymore. There was an aura around him, something darker than usual. For Luxord, he slowly started changing shape too, becoming bonier and older. Luxord could have even sworn that a wicked smite played on the Freeshooter's lips. If this was still Xigbar... then he was dangerous.

That's what he was being told. Xigbar was dangerous. Out of control. He had to get away from him now.

Finally, Luxord managed to move again. He turned his head away from the scene in front of him, heaving a sigh. Xigbar would be alright once he had cooled down. The Gambler of Fate started walking, concentrating on shakily putting one foot in front of the other. But once he had turned around the first corner, Luxord started to falter. It was only now that he noticed how little he was able to breathe properly. The wheezing had worsened, and it was giving him an extreme headache. The world was starting to spin again, making Luxord support much more against the wall. His lips felt cold, and he could imagine that they had an off color by now.

"Help..." Luxord choked out, trying to find something on the wall to grab. Because his knees were starting to give up. An uncomfortable tightness appeared in his chest. Another coughing fit came over him, this one the most violent of that evening. It rocked his entire body, and he was suddenly coughing up something warm and wet, once again tasting metal. His knees finally gave after, making him slide down the wall onto the floor where he finally landed in a sprawled position. Everything became the blackest of darkness, and the pain finally stopped.

* * *

"Xigbar, stop it!" A rough voice yelled, before something slim, long and metallic was placed across Xigbar's chest, effectively pulling him off the unmoving body. "What's wrong with you?" The voice demanded.

Xigbar fought against the grip, not caring how Xaldin's one lance was pressed harder against his chest the more he fought. In the end, Xaldin finally managed to get himself and Xigbar to their feet, succeeding in pulling Xigbar up, off and away from whatever he had been beating savagely.

"Calm down," Xaldin hissed in his ear, still pressing the Freeshooter against his own chest with his Lindworm pressed firmly against Xigbar's. The one-eyed Nobody still struggled, obviously trying to knock Xaldin away with an elbow, or trying to push them both back against the closest wall.

"Let go of me!" Xigbar all but screamed. "I'm gonna fucking kill him!" He grabbed the weapon across his chest with both of his hand, which was rather impressive when considering his injured shoulder, and tried to remove it. But Xaldin kept it firmly in place, ignoring the fact that Xigbar's blood had started to stain his own coat as well. He knew he simply had to keep him restrained like this until he calmed down.

"He's already dead, Xigbar!" Xaldin tried to reason, knowing that he needed to raise his voice to break through to this guy. Whoever 'he' was, Xigbar sure seemed to have a huge dislike for him. "Stop it!"

After another minute of thrashing, Xigbar finally seemed to realized what was going on, and froze. Xaldin dared to loosen up his grip a tiny bit, allowing Xigbar's chest to heave for air he so dearly needed. Before Xaldin could get a good look at whatever Xigbar had been fighting, the body started to fade away, once again merging back into the shadows of the hallway. It left nothing behind except a tense silence, only broken when Xaldin dismissed his lance, finally freeing Xigbar completely. Xigbar stumbled away from Xaldin, clutching his injured shoulder.

"Have you gone completely mad?" Xaldin hissed, turning to look at Xigbar.

"It's none of your goddamn business..!" Xigbar snapped, accidentally jarring the wound in his shoulder too much. Once the adrenaline had started to die down, pain took its place. He groaned. "I had him!"

"Yes you did, Xigbar," Xaldin reasoned, swiftly stepping over to Xigbar and put a hand on his other shoulder. "But it's gone now. And you have to get that looked at." He shifted his hand to the other shoulder, applying a good deal of pressure. He had to stop the blood flow. Xigbar yelped, gritting his teeth in pain.

"Fine," Xigbar said, finally seeming to return to his normal self. "When did you get back?"

"Not long ago," Xaldin said, still keeping the pressure on his shoulder. He had placed his other hand on Xigbar's back to be able to press a bit harder. "We will both go down to the laboratory now and have Vexen or Zexion take a look at you."

Xigbar nodded, but something kept him from moving.

"Is Luxord in the castle as well?" Xaldin suddenly asked, having kept a list of Organization members and their whereabouts in his head.

Luxord? Oh, yeah...

"Shit!" Xigbar exclaimed, looking around. "He was just here!" He explained, pulling out of Xaldin's grip. He tried looking as far as he could, not seeing the Gambler of Fate anywhere nearby. Holy shit, he had just let the idiot wander off again. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The dude was injured, for crying out loud! More than he had been at dinner.

"So he was with you?" Xaldin questioned. "Did you see where he went?"

"Obviously not!" Xigbar snapped, already starting down the hallway to look for him. He couldn't have gotten far, right? At least that's what Xigbar wanted to think. But to be honest, he shamefully had to admit that he didn't know how much time had passed. The blood on his gloves was not just his.

Xaldin followed, wondering how a man, with an injury like Xigbar's, was still able to run around and think of his fellow members. His one eye was glowing eerily in the darkness as he checked down hallways. Suddenly, Xaldin noticed how Xigbar seemed to spot something, falter slightly and finally run in that directions. Xaldin sped up, catching up with Xigbar as the Freeshooter kneeled next to an unconscious Luxord.

The Gambler of Fate was awfully still, lying partly on his stomach and party on his side against the wall. Xigbar cursed under his breath before carefully turning Luxord around and into a more comfortable position. Luxord didn't utter a sound at all. Even in the darkness, Xigbar noticed the blood lining his lips, and a small stream of blood running down his chin. At this distance, Xaldin wasn't able to see it. He couldn't see Xigbar's slightly widened eye either. But Xaldin could hear the uncomfortable silence, as Xigbar didn't say anything. What Xaldin couldn't hear was the very weak breathing coming from Luxord. Xigbar couldn't hear it either, until he had leaned in close to listen. The breathing was shallow, troubled and shaky. He checked his pulse.

"Lux," Xigbar said, almost in a demanding fashion. "You need to wake up, buddy." And of course there was no response. Xigbar flinched slightly as Xaldin was suddenly kneeling next to him, frowning at the gambler on the floor. Then he reached out and slapped Luxord on the cheek. Hard.

The blonde's head snapped to the side, and he suddenly breathed in a great gasp as his eyes shot open.

"He's awake," Xaldin stated clearly. Luxord's breathing now sounded like he had just emerged to the surface after having been underwater for several minutes. Xigbar couldn't even get himself to glare at Xaldin. The Lancer grabbed Luxord's chin to turn his attention on the two of them. "Number X, do you hear me?" He said loud and clear, trying to see if Luxord was responsive at all.

He could see Luxord's eyes scan over him, before the blonde finally nodded. Xigbar shifted Luxord slightly, making the Gambler lie against him instead of on the cold floor. Luxord groaned, feeling the sharp pain in his ribs once more. After some time, his breathing calmed slightly, though Xigbar wouldn't have minded if they stayed loud and clear.

A faint buzzing sound appeared, and Xaldin's head snapped up in attention. "Electricity's back," he informed dryly, before all of the lamps started to flicker. Soon, all the hallways were bathed in light, and the Nobodies had to cover their eyes for several moments. Luxord hissed, squeezing his eyes shut. Xigbar looked down at Luxord once more, doing his best to block out the light for his sake.

"We should get the both of you down to the lab now," Xaldin all but ordered. "I'll take him, you can't do it with your shoulder."

"Like hell I can..!" Xigbar tried to argue, but he was quickly shut up by a glare from Xaldin.

"You cannot, Xigbar. You have to see that," Xaldin said simply.

"... Xigbar..." Luxord gasped out, finally finding strength enough to talk. "You're..."

"What is it, Lux?" Xigbar said, looking down at Luxord again after having glared at Xaldin again. "Tell me."

Luxord didn't say anymore. He couldn't. His eyes were sliding shut, his energy was fading once again. At least Xigbar seemed to have returned to normal. But Luxord couldn't forget what he had seen. There was no way to explain it, but it was like something was just _wrong_ with Xigbar. At least those moments ago. It... scared him. It was an omen. His world went dark again.

"He shouldn't talk right now," Xaldin said quietly. "Lab. Now."

"... Fuck!" Xigbar suddenly exclaimed, after having listened to Luxord's breathing again. He kept a finger on his throat, at the pulse.

"What is it?"

"He stopped breathing," Xigbar said, placing Luxord flat on his back in the floor again. Xaldin didn't waste any time; he ripped Luxord's coat open at the zipper. Xigbar took over, ripping open Luxord's shirt, the buttons flying everywhere. They both noticed the bandages underneath but didn't say anything. Xigbar placed his ear against the Gambler's chest, listening for any thumping.

"Well?" Xaldin demanded.

"Nothing," Xigbar bit out.

Xaldin said nothing as Xigbar sat up and started to apply the chest compressions. It was out of his hands now.

* * *

**First of all, I am so sorry that this chapter took so long. I've been at least as impatient with it as you have been. But it's finally here - it isn't perfect, but it's here! Next chapter will be the "great" finale, or the ending so to speak. Im sad. Unless y'all somehow have any ideas how to continue this. But it was never meant to be a long fic anyways. Until next time! R&R people! R&R.**


	10. The Gambler's mask

Everyone down in the lab were looking at the ceiling. The lights were finally back and besides letting their eyes adjust to it, most of them looked at each other in surprise. Since they were down in the laboratory, it was not only the lights that had started buzzing and coming to life. No, all of Vexen's other machines were suddenly functional. The scientist in question looked over at the unconscious Roxas on the examination table.

Zexion, who was once again stationed at a window, glanced over his shoulder at the others. "It would seem that the power has returned to the Dark City too," he stated. "Perhaps whatever took the power is gone." He closed his eyes, trying to track the strange scent.

The sound of a portal opening in their midst broke the Schemer's concentration, and the others jumped wearily, almost expecting the intruder to appear. Marluxia and Larxene even got up from the couch, the Assassin wincing visibly. Instead, Lexaeus stepped out of the portal with a body slung over his one shoulder. He looked at them all with a rather grim expression before looking at Vexen.

"I believe Saïx needs some help," Lexaeus said quietly but in a clear voice. "Xaldin is still looking for Xigbar, if he hasn't already found him."

Vexen stared at Lexaeus for almost a full minute, once in a while glancing at the unmoving Saïx. It was only when the Silent Hero walked over to place Saïx on the now vacant couch that Vexen snapped out of his stupor. "What did you _do_?" Vexen all but demanded. Saïx was not going to be happy about this.

"I stopped him from running wild in this laboratory with all our injured members," Lexaeus explained. "The intruder, whatever it was, managed to make him lose control. He was going to hurt even more people if he stayed in the castle." He looked over at Demyx and Roxas.

"More blood," Zexion said simply, having tried once again to track the remaining members. "The scent of Xaldin is very close to Xigbar's. And Luxord's. They may very well have found each other by now. But more than one of them is injured, Vexen."

"I see," Vexen said with a calculating expression on his face. He glanced over at Lexaeus. Then over at Demyx standing protectively next to Roxas. "Xaldin will quite possibly make sure to bring them down here. In the meantime, the return of the power will now allow me to treat your injuries more thoroughly. Please hand me that suturing kit." He walked quickly over to Roxas on the examination table.

Meanwhile, Marluxia had been staring down at Saïx, glancing around quickly to make sure that no one was looking except Larxene. The latter frowned at him, fairly sure that Marluxia looked like he was ready to just grab a pillow and smother Saïx to death. Of course he wouldn't do it, even if the opportunity was there. It was an unsophisticated way to go about it. Marluxia wrinkled his nose slightly.

"He's loyal as hell to Xemnas," Larxene whispered after having leaned in close to Marluxia's ear. "And it probably won't change."

"Indeed," Marluxia whispered back. "At some point, we have to get rid of him. The others too." He glanced at the others over his shoulder, Vexen in particular. The Graceful Assassin's time for finally setting his plan into action would come soon enough. And when it did, he would have to strike swiftly.

"Hey," Larxene called over her shoulder. "Should we get Saïx to the infirmary?" She asked, referring to the large backroom to Vexen's laboratory. It served as a hospital wing, containing lined-up hospital beds and equipment. It wasn't often that injured members of Organization XIII would have to be confined to that room, since they could normally reside in their own rooms when injured. Only when they were injured badly, and Vexen would want to keep an eye on them while still keeping up his work, would they have to rest there.

"Why, yes," Vexen said, having started to unpack the suturing kit, looking for some latex gloves as well. "If one of you could please help him to the infirmary, that would be – Ah!" He cut himself off as one of Larxene's kunai flew right past his head. He dropped the kit, whirling around to send Larxene a furious scowl, the Savage Nymph still standing with her outstretched arm. Marluxia looked at Larxene calmly.

"What is the meaning of this?" Vexen demanded, glaring at Larxene.

Larxene didn't answer, and wasn't even looking at Vexen. Instead, she seemed to be focusing on something behind Vexen. Without a word, she summoned another knife to her hand. Marluxia seemed to be staring at what Larxene was looking at now as well. He summoned his Graceful Dahlia.

"We've got company," Lexaeus said calmly, just as Vexen turned around to see what the neophytes were looking at. There, in the doorway, stood the figure of Xemnas – or the intruder – with the kunai Larxene had thrown in his hand, having apparently caught it. Lexaeus shifted to get into a fighting position, but he was limping visibly and looked at least as beat as he had to feel.

The moment Xemnas took a single step forward, Marluxia was already upon him in a flash, swinging his scythe towards his target's neck while still mid-air. Larxene took the hint and fired several other kunai towards the impersonator as well. The scythe nearly hit the mark, until Marluxia literally hit an invisible wall. He didn't have time to think about the pain of slamming into it, before painful energy surged from the wall and through Marluxia, sending him flying back into another shelf instead. The knives bounced off the wall, some flying towards Demyx and Roxas. However, they were quickly blocked when Vexen summoned his shield to protect the others.

Xemnas took yet another step towards the group, having not even batted an eyelid at Marluxia and Larxene's attack. At the same time, Marluxia had untangled himself from the rubbish he had become entangled in, charging towards Xemnas once again. This time, Marluxia easily made his way around the all too predictable wall of nothingness, swinging his scythe towards Xemnas' middle in a spinning attack. Just as he thought he had finally landed a hit, red light suddenly caught his eyes, and Marluxia noticed that Xemnas had blocked his Dahlia with a single Ethereal Blade. Another Ethereal Blade sprouted from Xemnas' other hand. With a fast and powerful swing, he was the one to hit Marluxia's middle mercilessly instead, making the Assassin double over before falling to the floor.

"Do not let him reach the injured," Vexen snapped to no one in particular.

"I know, dammit!" Larxene snapped back.

Several knives were suddenly embedded in the floor around Xemnas, as Larxene had decided that the trick she used in the intruder in their first fight would have to suffice again – attacking this one directly was obviously not wise. The knives charged up with lightning, illuminating the already lit room. Once the intruder had made sure that Marluxia wouldn't get up, he turned his attention on Larxene. He lifted his arm, sending dark tendrils towards her. Larxene made a quick dodge roll out of the way, barely making it. Vexen and Demyx had to dodge out of the way as well. Xemnas stepped freely out of the circle of kunai, dismissing his Ethereal Blades and finally taking the last few steps over to Vexen, who managed to get back on his feet, shield in hand. He positioned himself protectively between Xemnas and the unconscious Roxas. Lexaeus did the same.

Xemnas looked at them with a bored expression. But there was something else. "I might forgive you all for attacking me," he suddenly said in that deep voice of his. "If you tell me what has happened to my castle." He looked Vexen dead in the eye.

"He's the real Superior," Zexion suddenly said, having not moved from his spot at the window. He had simply observed the entire scene. "I recognized his scent, but... His power sure did convince me too." He nodded in greeting and respect.

The scientist gasped, taking a shocked step back and dropping his shield with a loud clang. "S-Superior..!" He stammered.

Marluxia finally managed to lift himself into a mix of kneeling and crawling position. A thin string of blood was running from the corner of his mouth and down his chin, a sign of internal injuries.

'_He didn't even try,_' Marluxia thought, glaring daggers at Xemnas' back. '_He didn't even try, and yet he could have wiped us all out..._'

Vexen opened his mouth to speak again.

"What. Happened?" Xemnas cut him off with what could almost be compared with a snarl.

* * *

_The darkness was thick, like having dived into an endless sea of molasses. Luckily, the need to breathe wasn't there. He felt dizzy, having no firm ground to put his feet on. He didn't even know if he was standing up straight, or if he was perhaps upside-down. One thing was sure... this didn't feel right. The grim realization that he was actually sinking further into the darkness soon hit him, tearing at the edges of his consciousness. He had to wake up – that's it, he wasn't awake! A pain shot through his chest, repeating itself with a panicked rhythm. It was sort of the opposite feeling of the heart trying to beat through your chest. It took his breath away every time. He had to try to swim through this substance – try reaching for light and life. He had to wake up._

* * *

_Everything was spinning, twisting in a fashion made for nightmares. All he could spot was part darkness and part ceiling. Soon, shadows moved across the walls and the ceiling, revealing that someone was standing close by. His eyes were starting to close again._

"_-ouldn't push yourself, you're injured too…"_

"_-bit more important, Zexion…"_

_Who was that talking? He couldn't recognize the voices. Where was he?_

"_-ink he's awake."_

"_What..?"_

_The sounds and people came nearer. Something touched his face, assaulting him with a bright light. What was that constant beeping? 'Stop touching me,' he wanted to say. Instead he decided to let out a groan, but nothing came. In fact, no sound wanted to come as commanded. Something was literally stuck in his throat._

"_Can you hear me?" Someone said._

"_-f you can hear me, then-" And everything was darkness again._

* * *

The whiteness of the room instantly assaulted his eyes. Roxas squeezed his eyes shut, letting out the whiniest of groans, just like when he woke up a normal morning and wanted to sleep on for just five more minutes. Only then did he notice that the mattress beneath him did not feel like his own bed. In fact, why were the lights on anyway?

There was a quiet gasp and the sound of someone either shifting or fumbling around nearby. "Ax," someone hissed in Roxas' close vicinity. "I think he's awake!"

Roxas cracked a single eye open, looking timidly around. Like everything in the Castle That Never Was, the ceiling was a dull white. The young Nobody assumed that the walls would have to be the same color. And- wait a minute! The lights in the ceiling were on! Did that mean that they had won? Both of his eyes shot wide open. His eyes darted from side to side to get a good look at his surroundings.

"About time you came back to the world of the living," a rather laid back voice said to his left. "Welcome back, buddy."

"Axel!" Roxas burst out, sitting up in the bed. In fact, Demyx was standing next to the seated Axel, fidgeting nervously with his hands.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames quickly put a hand on Roxas' shoulder and pushed him back down. "Whoa, there!" He said quickly. "Yeah, it's me. You shouldn't jump about yet, apparently you got a serious head-injury. You were out cold the whole night, and most of today too."

"Man," Demyx sighed, rubbing his brow, "I'm really glad you're okay, Roxas. For a minute there, I thought that Saïx actually killed you." He gulped. Roxas looked around while Demyx spoke. It was obvious that he was in the hospital wing.

"I'm feeling just fine," the Keybearer admitted with a shrug. "Bit of a headache, though."

"No surprise there," Axel shrugged, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. Then he all but bit out, "I think I'm gonna have a talk with Saïx when I see him."

"... He couldn't really help it, Ax," Roxas interjected. "I mean, he was pretty much out of control, right? Demyx?" He looked at the Nocturne.

"Huh?" Demyx said, snapping out of his own thoughts. It seemed like he had been listening to or for something. Now that Roxas thought about it, there was a rather irritating and rhythmical beeping sound in the background. Demyx nodded at what Roxas had said.

"Yeah," Demyx agreed. "Something really managed to tick the dude off. It obviously had to be the work of the intruder, right?"

"Wait," Roxas said suddenly. "What actually happened? Did you... did you defeat Saïx?" He blinked.

"Me?" Demyx blinked as well. He put up his hands defensively. "Oh no, no I didn't! Lexaeus appeared and told me to get you and myself the heck out of there. He was the one who fought him. We gotta thank him, Rox. He might have saved our lives."

Roxas nodded. "But did we get the intruder? Who was it? What did they want?"

"We didn't get anything," Axel mumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "They were all killed, there wasn't anything else to do." His voice was slightly bitter.

Roxas tried to ignore the fact that his hands were clutching his covers. "Right..." He sighed. "At least it's over now…"

"You could say that," Axel said, wrinkling his nose in a distasteful manner. Demyx looked like he wanted to hide away somewhere. "Xemnas is back too, you know."

"He is?" Roxas asked, blinking rapidly.

"Yeah," Demyx choked out, running an ungloved hand through his hair. "And he is sure to be pissy right now..!"

Axel sent Demyx a glaring glance, telling him to shut up. Then he looked back at Roxas. "He gathered some of the others for a meeting in the Round Room. If he _is _in a foul mood, it's directed at them. Not us. I wasn't even here, man."

"… Ok, the _worst_ part is over," Roxas rephrased.

The others looked a bit uncertain.

* * *

"Disappointing," Xemnas hissed from his position in the highest throne in Where Nothing Gathers. "I leave this, my castle, to you all, in my absence. And you cannot even protect it, or our Dark City, from a few intruders!"

It had all happened last night by now. Xemnas had arrived, less than pleased, to find out about the entire predicament in the Castle That Never Was. Whether it was his presence or the last intruder's death that finally allowed the electricity to return was still mystery. The Superior of the In-Between had waited for them all to fix the mess they'd gotten themselves into, until he finally called all the original members of Organization XIII to the current meeting. And Saïx.

"You are my second-in-command," Xemnas turned his head to look down at the Nobody in question. "I left my castle in the care of you, first and foremost. You allowed something like this to happen on your watch, Number VII. That is failure."

Saïx didn't move as Xemnas spoke. However, the little twitch of his feet indicated the curling of toes. Like with Vexen, a bandage was wrapped around his head, being held up by his pointy ears. Other than that, he seemed completely calm. "Forgive me, Superior," he said clearly. "I will never allow this to happen again, I give you my word. However, I managed to kill one of the intruders."

"You are dismissed, Saïx," Xemnas drawled from his throne, without moving. He didn't even care to wave his hand or nod.

"Superior – " Saïx tried, but was cut off.

"Dismissed, Number VII."

There was a strange look on Saïx' face, before the second-in-command simply portaled away from the room. The others watched the now empty spot in silence.

"As for you all," Xemnas began ominously, looking around at his original and founding members.

Vexen was silently drumming his fingertips in his armrests, nothing anyone could hear in that huge room.

Zexion and Xaldin were both waiting patiently, knowing that they couldn't be to blame, seeing as they were supposed to have been away during the events and the fact that they had helped out a great deal when they did arrive.

Lexaeus was sitting leaned back in his throne, his movements still rather stiff and awkward. His eyes were closed in grim acceptance of the harsh words that were about to come.

The only one not dressed in the usual black coat was Xigbar. The Freeshooter was sitting in his throne as well, merely dressed in a t-shirt and boxers, which was understandable since he had been forced to spend his night in the hospital wing as well, just like Saïx and Roxas. He didn't need the protection against darkness either, since he could just teleport. His one arm, the one with the injured shoulder, was resting in a sling. His other hand was clenched tightly, only being clenched tighter every time Xemnas spoke. The very sound of his voice seemed to tick him off.

Xemnas finally looked at Xigbar of all people. "Saïx may have been my second-in-command… but, obviously, I expected more from you all. Especially you, Number II."

Xigbar stared straight ahead at the thrones in front of him.

Xemnas continued, this time speaking to all of them. Supposedly. "This is not the first time that people have let intruders just wander into our city and castle. And now you've allowed several members to get injured in the process, even our Keyblade Wielder. None of you managed to catch at least one of these intruders last night – I dare say that you keep… disappointing me."

Xigbar scoffed loudly, wanting to fold his arms. "Big deal," he sneered. "Saïx killed one, in his berserker-rage. I killed two, if not three. They're not coming back. If they do, they're idiots. Problem solved! Now, can I get the hell outta here?"

"Who were they, though?" Lexaeus said, effectively cutting off Xigbar's provocative behavior.

"I have a theory," Zexion said calmly, raising his hand for a short moment.

There was a tense, in which Xemnas slowly turned his head to look at the Cloaked Schemer. "Speak," Xemnas finally said.

Zexion spoke, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "My mission with Xaldin was simple; to explore the new world we had found. Upon our arrival with a dark portal, we were met with the sight of a huge lake. In the middle of this lake, I sensed some sort of magical barrier. True enough, the barrier appeared to be hiding what looked like an enormous castle. Now, on this mission, we managed to gather plenty of information of the people, flora and fauna. A certain creature was a shape-shifter, much like the ones described in these last hours. From your information, I can only gather that this creature must have snuck through the portal from its own world when we arrived."

"That creature would have been destroyed by the darkness..!" Vexen argued.

"Or empowered," Zexion said simply. "There is a difference in our information, you see. The way you have all described these intruders is a bit different from ours. Our version is, supposedly, not able to copy powers and memories. Other than that, every other description fits perfectly. I can only assume that its journey through the darkness gave it those powers."

"I see," Xemnas said. "It is the only fitting theory, indeed."

Zexion nodded in agreement. Xaldin was glancing discreetly over at Xigbar, who seemed to have calmed down just a bit.

Xemnas then looked over at Vexen. "Report," he said simply.

Vexen jumped visibly in his seat, having momentarily forgotten the chance of him being picked out. "Of course," he almost stammered. "Among our members, seven were injured, including myself. Xigbar has suffered a severe and deep cut across his shoulder. Lexaeus and Saïx took a lot of damage from each other – however, Saïx suffered severe exhaustion as well. Marluxia has several injuries as well, the worst ones being internal bleeding… on your behalf… and severe exhaustion, as well. Roxas showed to have a skull fracture, but he is healing nicely. He should be awake by now…" He trailed off.

Everyone had been listening in silence, wanting to know the situation. Xemnas, however, couldn't look less dull and uninterested. The fates of his members were, however, interesting for him to know.

Vexen continued. "Luxord's case is a more difficult one," Vexen said. "He had already suffered several broken ribs before the intruders revealed their presence. According to Xaldin, Number X's breathing and pulse gave out rather spontaneously. But perhaps it isn't that spontaneous. Taking his broken ribs into consideration, I can only assume that Luxord must have fallen victim to an ugly fall, or several blunt attacks to said ribs, if not both. The already broken ribs must have pierced his lung, which then collapsed after a good amount of time."

Xigbar glanced over at the empty throne belonging to the Gambler of Fate.

"He was gone for about two minutes," Xaldin added, "before Xigbar managed to resuscitate him."

"Clinically dead is the right term here," Vexen concluded. "His breathing is currently being supported, but I plan on extubating him later. However, I do believe that Xigbar should return to the infirmary as well."

Xemnas exhaled through his nose. "Very well. You are all dismissed."

Everyone portaled away, and Xigbar teleported.

* * *

His reflection in the water was murky and blurred, just like the surrounding landscape. The little boat, governed by no one, slowly slid between the trees upon the water. Oddly enough, standing at the tip of the boat did not affect its perfect balance in any way.

Finally, the little boat came to a gentle stop at a small pier, leading up to a primitive hut. After a moment's thought, Luxord stepped carefully from the boat to the wooden boards onto the pier. Nothing hindered him from walking straight up to the little hut and entering, which he did. The inside was at least as messy as outside, with jars and bottles hanging from the ceiling, suspended by rope and strings. However, it looked slightly bigger from inside the walls. A doorway led to another room, and shelves lined the walls. Candles were burning everywhere, giving the place an eerie, yellow glow.

Luxord politely closed the door after him, going to the small table with the two chairs. He rested his one hand on the dusty chair, enjoying the feeling of something solid.

"You have arrived, I see," a heavily accented, female voice suddenly said, breaking the silence. Luxord turned to look at the person. What he saw was a dark woman in a ragged dress, black dreadlocks cascading down her shoulders, beautiful curves and a sly grin on her all too mysterious face. She was holding a small teacup in her hands.

"For the cold," she offered, placing the cup on the table. "And the pain."

Luxord stood up straight, finally getting over the sight of her. He stepped over to the woman, taking her hand with a soft yet sad smile. "Tia Dalma," he greeted, kissing her hand gently. "It really is an honor to meet you yet again." He let go of her hand and stepped back.

Her black lips curled into a smile instead. "Charmer," she quipped with a chuckle, seating herself in one of the chairs. Her fingertips started playing very lightly with the flame of a candle. With her other hand, she signaled for Luxord to sit as well. "Now… what brings you here?"

"… I don't know," Luxord admitted, taking the teacup. The warmth of the porcelain already surged through his hands, a small comfort. "I don't even know where I came from. Am I dead?"

"Not yet."

Luxord sighed.

"Would you like to know," Tia Dalma suddenly started, "how you're going to die?" That sly yet alluring expression on her face was back. An old and obviously used deck of cards was suddenly in her hands. She had stopped playing with the candle. With one hand, she fanned out the cards neatly on the table, backside up.

The smallest of smiles tugged at the corner of Luxord's mouth. "I have a faint idea," he whispered, taking a sip from the warm tea.

"Every possibility?" She pushed.

"Yes."

"And this is not one of them." It was more of a statement than a question.

"No," Luxord finished. "But it feels so close and familiar at the same time. Like losing my heart all over again. I was sure that Jones had finished me off."

"Because you are close," Tia Dalma explained. "And Jones… even though it was not really him… him cruel and savage deeds are punished now."

Luxord nodded, taking another sip.

"Why have you come here?" She repeated. Only then did Luxord notice the sound of a small music box playing the exact same melody that the other music box had been playing back at the Castle That Never Was. However, instead of installing fear and paranoia, it was soothing and calm.

Luxord rested his head in the palm of his other hand. "I didn't choose this. Not consciously, at least. But since I'm here, the only thing I can think of is… guidance."

Tia Dalma waited patiently for Luxord to continue.

"This world," Luxord continued. "_My_ world. It's _spinning out of control_. I know so little, I…" He trailed off.

"Tell me, Luxord," Tia Dalma suddenly said. Some of the jars and bottles started swinging a bit, possibly the result of a light breeze. "Him wanted to kill you. Why?"

Luxord stared at her in surprise. Then he took a deep breath. He sat up straight again. "Because that was the deal," he said. "You already know."

"Tell me," she insisted.

Luxord sighed. Where to start? Suddenly, it was so awkward talking about his past, even with someone who supposedly already knew about it. "When I was still human and younger than I am now, I left what was left of my home. Actually, there was nothing left for me to stay with. I did what I'd always wanted to do; I traveled the world, looking for freedom and living no better than my own skill. The pain of her death would only just start to fade after several years. And after several years, Davy Jones was the one I came across. Jones all but murdered the other passengers, men and women. That's when I knew that, no matter what I did, I was dead."

"_You have two options, whelp," the accented voice laughed. "You can die now. I can send you to the dark abyss, where you will be facing your deeds. Or you can live..! Accept this offer, and you will not only live the years of a single life. No, you, lad, can live for a hundred years on my ship. If I were you, I'd accept. It's that, or death."_

_There was a snicker._

"_Amused, are we?"_

_A moment's silence. "They say that you have no heart," the young man said. "I can't see why I should accept the offer of a heartless man. So… I'll throw in a choice of my own; I'll play you for it. If I win, I live. If I lose… then you're free to take the heart, which you lack, from me. Do whatever you want with it. It's a challenge."_

"And my fate was sealed," Luxord said bitterly, putting down the teacup. "Obviously. And Jones decided that he could do with my heart what he wanted, since it was his now." His fingers trailed over a certain spot on his own chest, where he knew an old and slightly faded scar was lurking under the several layers of clothes.

"In the darkest, calmest and deepest depths of my domain, a feeble soul with fading heart and dying body appeared," Tia Dalma said. "Fate soon swept him away, dooming him to the life of a Nobody."

Silence. Tia Dalma started shuffling the cards again. Luxord could see – he knew – that they were the Major Arcana.

"I saw something tonight," Luxord suddenly said, changing the subject. "Something that not only made me think that I really am crazy, but actually made me hope it as well."

She smiled, her fingers playing with a flame again. "Oh?"

"It's Xigbar…" His fingers were in his lap, trembling slightly. "There's just something… wrong with him. Something I can't understand, something dangerous..!"

"You worry about your friend?" The dark woman pushed, fanning out the cards on the table again. "Or are you scared?"

"Of course I worry..!" Luxord hissed, refusing to admit the other option, if it was even an option.

"Him not like you. Dwelled in the darkness longer than you, him has. You seem to know him well, however… Everything is never as it seems. Him may be your friend, and you are his. That's why…" She flipped one of the cards on the table, picking it randomly. The first thing Luxord saw was the number sixteen written in Roman numerals. The he saw it – the high tower, engulfed in flames and despair. "You are going to suffer more than anyone."

_The Tower. _Chaos, impact and crisis.

Luxord felt something inside him sink and tighten. "He can do that?" He choked out.

"That choice is his, when time comes…" Tia Dalma deadpanned. The jars and bottles were swinging back and forth more visibly by now. Something tense was in the air. "You see yourself as weak, but this is actually where you are wrong."

"What do you mean?" Luxord asked, rising from his seat. "I'm at the end of my rope. I couldn't even beat Jones in my Nobody form. It's as if I'm resting in suspended animation, never getting as strong as the others. There is a _reason _Xigbar pities me, thinking I need a chaperone every minute of the day. I feel like I'm giving in to madness itself!"

Tia Dalma smiled. "That's where you are mistaken," she said and clucked her tongue. "Such convincing feelings."

Luxord didn't say anything.

"I have watched," the mysterious woman explained. She got up from her seat as well, making her way around the table to stand in front of the Gambler. "You were beaten, wounded. You think those are signs of complete weakness. The creatures you have encountered tonight deals in shadows, fear and insanity itself. Every single one of you all was confronted by 'madness itself', as you so well put it, my witty friend. But… you are the one who did not give in to it. Your mind is strong, dearest one. Brute force was never you. Your spirit, your _soul_, is your strength as well. A most powerful one."

Luxord stared at her, only able to concentrate on his shaky hands. "How do I stop the darkness tugging at the edges of my mind? My powers aren't useless, but they intimidate me. How do I..." He trailed off.

"How will you avoid the suffering?" Tia Dalma finished for him. "Cast away these emotions of yours and become still as the depths, waiting for the next victim of the world. The question, however, is not how you do it…"

"Then what is the real question, then?" Luxord asked, glancing at the cards on the table. The Tower was still mocking him.

"The question is," Tia Dalma started, staring him straight in the eyes with a serious expression all of a sudden, "_should_ you do it?"

He frowned, letting silence settle over the two of them. The music box had stopped playing, leaving only the sound of wind and creaking floorboards. He knew what she meant. You couldn't avoid suffering in life. Pain was at least as big a part of being alive as pleasure was. Trying to avoid it would mean that you had to avoid both.

Knowing that he would probably always have a card up his sleeve, he reached out and flipped another random card, revealing the Wheel of Fortune, also known as Time.

_Changes, opportunities and a new beginning._ He wanted to fight for that. For chance and possibilities. For the choice of not sinking back into darkness.

'_We are Nobodies_,' Luxord thought, closing his eyes. '_But we strive to be human_. _However, it is… near impossible._' He opened his eyes again.

"… What happens now?" Luxord whispered.

Tia Dalma placed her palm in the middle of his chest, smiling. "Return to life," she said. For a moment it felt like she was trying to dig her fingers into his chest. "Return to the realm of the living."

Luxord nodded. "Thank you, Tia Dalma," he said, enjoying the lack of tremors. "Thank you… Calypso." And he was suddenly pushed violently back and into darkness.

The sharp intake of breath was, perhaps, the worst thing he could have done upon awakening. Shock traveled through his side, resulting in a pained spasm, only causing more hurt. It felt like he hadn't moved in ages, with his fingers cramping up and his entire body shivering, like having broken through the surface of icy water.

He groaned, reaching out for something – _anything_ – to hold on to. He found nothing, and panic rose within him. He let out another regrettable gasp, opening his eyes wide open to look around.

Curtains. Curtains surrounded the bed he was currently in.

Machines. Noisy, beeping, blinking.

Dim light.

Dizziness, weakness, breathlessness and coughs.

He let himself sink into the mattress, relaxing his muscles for mere seconds before his right hand sought to his left side, trying to feel the damage. He realized that his chest was bare, allowing his fingers to feel the beaten and bruised skin, clinging to his ribs. Even though he made his best to touch everything gently, the very touch set his side on fire. He let out a pained sound, all the while wondering why his skin felt… uneven. Something even seemed to be embedded somewhere between his ribs, as well. He allowed his fingers to touch it.

"No." Someone was suddenly at his side, actually way too close, grabbing his wrist. "Don't touch it."

Luxord didn't even have the power to resist the grip, his hand going limp in the person's.

"It's a chest-tube," the voice explained. Those icy hands… It could only be Vexen. "It's helping you." Once he had placed Luxord's arm back at his side, Vexen reached over to correct the Gambler's nasal cannula.

That beeping sound…

"Where..?" Luxord whispered hoarsely.

"Listen closely," Vexen said quietly, leaning in close to Luxord so he wouldn't have to talk too loudly. "You are in the hospital wing, in the Castle That Never Was. You've been under for about twenty-four hours, give or take a few. You shouldn't try to move too much. Is there anything you need? Water, perhaps?"

Luxord closed his tired eyes, shaking his head weakly. He wasn't sure if Vexen could even see it.

"So he's awake," Someone else said from Luxord's other side. Through the fog, the Gambler of Fate recognized Xigbar's voice.

"Yes," Vexen said, "But he's still faint. And you should get back to your bed."

'_I'm not weak_,' Luxord thought. '_Not… Weak…_'

"I'm fine," Xigbar said, shrugging to prove his point. But the pained expression on his face gave him away. "Just wanna see to the guy, relax."

"Fine," Vexen sighed, stepping back from Luxord's bed. He sent Luxord a quick glance before disappearing through the curtains.

Xigbar sat down in a chair, careful not to move his shoulder too much. "How are you?" He asked, giving Luxord a hard look.

Luxord, for some reason, flinched at the look. He didn't know why. Perhaps it wasn't the look he received, maybe it was the sound of the Freeshooter's voice. The sight of him? Something about Xigbar's presence made Luxord uneasy.

"I'm…" Luxord started out. Perhaps he should've accepted the water. "I'm alright."

"Bullshit," Xigbar hissed, frowning. "You were dead for two minutes, Lux."

"Sorry?" Luxord tried, not knowing where Xigbar was going.

"You're an idiot," Xigbar bit out, giving Luxord a full glare.

Luxord sighed, trying his best not to let his uneasiness affect him. Or the exhaustion. Already now, he could feel his eyes threatening to slide shut. His fingers twitched, still feeling rather stiff. He found himself staring at the dimmed light in the ceiling, remembering Tia Dalma's hut with the dusty bottles and jars.

"-ext time you're hurt, you shouldn't even go near the exit of your room." Xigbar finished, even though Luxord hadn't been listening. "Why the hell couldn't you just heal up instead of-"

"Xigbar, stop it…" Luxord said, wincing at his own loud voice. "I-I don't know what's happening right now… Just… a moment, alright?"

Xigbar stayed quiet, but eventually gave a nod. "Just, this time, do what Vexen says, okay?" Xigbar ordered. "Tell me what you need."

"Cold…" Luxord groaned, feeling the room spin and twist again. "It's cold."

"Hold on," Xigbar mumbled, reaching his good arm across Luxord to grab the folded comforter.

Soon, Luxord felt less exposed. His eyes were closed, allowing him to just listen to the rhythm of those beeps, which seemed to have slowed down. He noticed that he was, in fact, completely numb from the waist and down – he couldn't feel his legs, but it was a blessed numbness compared to the pain. But was it going to last? He struggled to lift his head off of the pillow, trying to get a look at what could be causing this numbness.

"What is it?" Xigbar said, noticing the frown on Luxord's face. "You in pain? I can get Vexen to up the pain-killers."

"It's not like that," Luxord denied. "Are _you_ alright?" Luxord asked, meaning it in every way possible. He found himself staring at the ceiling again, finding comfort in the lights. It was uncanny how they, creatures of darkness, were easily overthrown by the lack of lamps.

"Hmm? I'm pretty okay," Xigbar scoffed, grinning confidently. "Takes more than that to get me down. It was the other guy who was smoked, remember?"

'_Smoked?_' Luxord thought. '_How about savagely murdered..?_' He turned his head sluggishly to look at the Freeshooter.

"That's… good," he mumbled, feeling his vision blacken. He couldn't stay awake anymore.

'_I just wished I could have stopped you…_'

* * *

Larxene was sitting in his windowsill when he emerged from the bathroom. At least he had dressed himself in boxers and pants before he came out.

"What do you want?" Marluxia grumbled, trying to keep a somewhat polite tone. He threw his towel on the bed, going to his closet. Not that he was ashamed of his body, but Larxene shouldn't stop him from following a routine.

She was silent for a while, shifting her position. "You saw how powerful he was," she said simply. "You even felt it. A simple look-alike was even enough to challenge the both of us."

"I see where you're going with this," he said like he didn't care. "But I'm not going back on this plan. Admit that you still want it."

"I do," Larxene shrugged, and then hopped down from the windowsill. She threw his towel in the laundry bin. "But it's not going to work if we're fish in a barrel against Xemnas."

Marluxia finally found a dark t-shirt and pulled it over his head. Larxene sighed inwardly at the way he had to fan out his hair afterwards. "It's a minor set-back, Larxene," the Graceful Assassin explained. "Yes, he's strong, but did you expect it to be otherwise?" He lifted an eyebrow.

Larxene scrutinized him with her eyes.

"I was simply testing his strength," Marluxia hissed, walking over to her with a serious expression. "This just means a change of plans. Mark my words; Organization XIII is going to be mine."

* * *

"It's going to be so great sleeping in my own bed!" Roxas exclaimed, throwing himself on his bed.

"Hey, don't jump like that..!" Demyx gasped from the doorway. "You're just gonna hit your head again!"

"Right," Roxas said, flopping onto his back instead. "The lethal pillows and comforters are going to injure me." He threw his pillow at Demyx to prove a point, but Axel caught in on his way in.

"I'm serious," Roxas said, interlocking his fingers behind his neck. "I'm feeling just fine."

"See, he's okay, Dem," Axel shrugged, throwing the pillow back at Roxas. "This time. I'm a bit jealous that Lexaeus got to slug Saïx a few times, though. I should've been here. You're really lucky that Lexaeus appeared when he did." He scratched his cheek, a sulky look on his face.

"You can't always be everywhere, Ax," Roxas said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "You were away this time, you can't really be blamed, right? You could've handled it if you were there, which is more than you can say about us…" He sighed.

"Don't bother your spiky, little head about that," Axel said, waving a hand dismissively.

"I'm not," Roxas suddenly said, standing up. He summoned his Keyblade in his outstretched arm, causing a small and quick flash of light. "Last night's events only proved that I need to get stronger! I want to be able to protect my friends too, Axel, it's a promise I made once. Next time, I'll protect everyone."

Axel smiled, shaking his head.

"Well, I kinda protected you…" Demyx mumbled under his breath.

"What's that Demyx?" Roxas said.

Axel looked out into the hallway as Saïx passed, letting the two other Nobodies' conversation fly over his head. He ducked out of the room, catching up with the Luna Diviner.

"Saïx, wait up!" He called, slowing down as he was finally walking next to the second-in-command. "I'm back."

"Obviously," Saïx deadpanned. Axel noticed that he was carrying a lot of files and papers. It was a huge stack, actually, occupying both of the latter's arms. Number VII didn't stop his walking, but didn't signal for Axel to remove himself either. He still wore the bandages around his head.

"What?" Axel said, feeling that he had to keep speeding up little by little to keep up with him. "No instant reporting? No, 'tell me everything, now'?"

"It's hardly the right time, Number VIII," Saïx sneered, taking a sharp turn into his own room. He placed the stack of files on his desk, sighing. "If you haven't noticed, there are other pressing matters."

Axel stopped in the doorway, like he had done in Roxas' room, staring at the other Nobody. Very distantly, he remembered a young man named Isa, who would usually be a total workaholic whenever something bothered him. Whenever something really struck a nerve. Not the way Lea had always bothered him, which was just brotherly teasing, but _really_ bothering. Saïx took the first files from the top of the stack, seating himself at the desk.

"Xemnas is really pissed, isn't he?" Axel asked.

"I fail to comprehend what that has to do with our conversation," Saïx said calmly, already going through his work.

Axel sighed. "I'm gonna report to you when you're not so… busy," he said, turning to leave. "And I'm gonna talk to you about practically splitting open Roxas' skull, too."

Saïx scoffed. "Close the door when you leave."

* * *

"We can't go back to that world," Zexion said simply, turning a page in his book. He, along with Xaldin and Lexaeus were seated in the couches of the Grey Area.

"Just because a few creatures slipped through, giving the bigger part of the Organization a fright, it doesn't mean it's going to happen again," Xaldin said, folding his arms. "We'll keep a better eye on our surroundings the next time, take our precautions. We shouldn't count it out just yet."

Zexion nodded. "Indeed, there did seem to be a strong concentration of magic. A different sort, though. But we cannot return right now. Leave it for a bit, Xaldin."

Xaldin nodded, glancing over at Lexaeus. The Silent Hero nodded as well.

"As of right now, at least three members are probably going to be excused from any missions," Lexaeus said. "Roxas included. The only thing that's left is to heal and move on."

The others nodded, deep in thought.

* * *

_The bullets went through his body, piercing his skin and penetrating bone. It gave a sickening crack and splatter, and he hit the ground with a pained grunt. The mere shock of the attack left him trembling on the ground. It was incredibly cold all of a sudden. He lifted his head weakly to look at his attacker, a single yellow eye catching his attention._

"_You really were the weakest of us, dude," the attacker said, aiming his weapon at him again. "No wonder you're gonna die…"_

And Luxord's eyes shot open, his insides screaming. The lights in the ceilings were still dimmed, thankfully not hurting his still tired eyes. He hadn't screamed out, luckily, but sweat was covering his brow. His head was spinning and his chest was heaving with silent gasps for air. The several pillows behind his back had him sitting up very slightly, making it easier to look around. Xigbar was sitting in the same chair again. The annoying background noise indicated that he was probably watching television, but he was now looking at Luxord quietly instead.

As expected, Vexen soon appeared from behind the curtain once again. Luxord had to suspect that Vexen could tell when he was awake or not. His timing couldn't be that great. The Gambler of Fate looked between the two, not knowing what to say. He didn't have to, however, because an ice-cold hand was soon placed on his brow.

"Just uneasy sleep," Luxord said, not liking the attention he got. "It'll pass."

"You don't have a fever," Vexen remarked. "It could be the pain. Are the painkillers sufficient?"

Luxord glanced discreetly at Xigbar. "I can still feel it sometimes, the pain," he explained.

Vexen scribbled something in a journal, fumbling with an intravenous tube afterwards. He nodded to himself when he was satisfied with the results. "You might start to feel drowsy again soon. You also still shouldn't move too much with that chest-tube." He turned to leave.

"Wait…" Luxord said, stopping Vexen in his tracks. "How long do I… have to stay here..?"

Vexen looked between Xigbar and Luxord. "A little over three weeks," he stated. "Perhaps less."

"Three weeks?" Luxord and Xigbar chorused.

"Oh, trust me," Vexen said, a curious look on his face. "It would take far longer than that, if we did it in _the good, old-fashioned_ way that you so praise." His voice was mocking by now. Vexen left, mumbling several not-so-nice things under his breath all the way out of the infirmary.

Luxord looked down at his hands, trying to flex his numb fingers. Vexen was right, he could feel the increased medicine. And he needed to stay here and receive medical care for now. The chair scraped slightly as Xigbar skidded closer to the bed.

"Afraid I have to agree with the creep," Xigbar said, resting his arm on the mattress. "You should just do your best to recover, and then you'll be out of here in no time."

Luxord looked at him, the visions from his recent and repeating dreams going through his head again. Were his hands shaking again? What was the matter with him? He looked down, trying to calm his breath and pulse. But that strange device, still attacked to his finger and beeping provocatively, gave him away. He relaxed back into the pillows.

"Luxord," Xigbar said suddenly. He reached out suddenly and grabbed the Gambler's chin in order to look him dead in the eye. Golden met blue, and Luxord was once again reminded of how Xigbar's eyes always seemed to glow in the darkness. "What's wrong? You seem totally confused, like you're really sick, dude. I know you're still not fine, I know. But Vexen just said you didn't have a fever. Did you see anything that night?" He said quietly.

Luxord looked at him, feeling how the hand holding his chin was slowly tightening slightly. How could he ever explain to this man what he had seen him do? How could he explain to his comrade that he didn't want him near himself right now? But Luxord knew that he couldn't avoid him forever. And he didn't want to either. But how could he explain to Xigbar that the Freeshooter practically scared the living hell out of him right now, foreshadowing downfall, betrayal and pain. In fact, it was all that the world held.

Xigbar kept looking him in the eye, searching for any sign that could indicate what was wrong with this dude. He was injured and only just recovering, yes, but he seemed… resigned.

… _should you do it?_

_Cast away these emotions of yours and become still as the depths, waiting for the next victim of the world…_

… _do it?_

Luxord frowned at the Freeshooter. Finally, Xigbar saw something – a reaction – in the Gambler's eyes. But it surprised him at least as much as what happened next. He saw something just _break _in those blue eyes, and then the corners of Luxord's mouth twitched slightly before pulling into the faintest and oddest of smiles. Xigbar frowned back.

"I'm fine, Xigbar," Luxord said quietly, reaching up to remove the Freeshooter's hand from his chin. "Thank you for asking. I do hope you'll feel better soon, too. Wounds heal." He made himself more comfortable before closing his eyes. He fell asleep fast, knowing that Xigbar was still watching him in tense silence.

Once the Gambler was asleep, Xigbar reached over to feel his brow as well. The dude had to be delirious or something, because he sure as hell wasn't acting like himself. But he wasn't warm, just rather clammy instead. He spotted a mostly faded scar in the center of the Gambler's chest. He hadn't noticed that before, not that the blonde was ever found walking around without a shirt, really.

"Wounds heal," Xigbar repeated to himself. "As if." His hand ghosted over the scar on his face.

* * *

Xigbar couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something weird about Luxord ever since that night with the intruders. He was shaken, obviously, but everyone who came across one of those creatures had to be. Even Xigbar, though he would never admit that. But seeing the face of that old jerk again wasn't exactly expected over dinner. It was now about three weeks later, and Xigbar had full function of his arm and shoulder again. Luxord had been released from the infirmary, on the condition that he did not strain himself. He had spent the first couple of days after his release sleeping in the comfort and privacy of his own room, without Xigbar watching him like a hawk. But the Freeshooter could tell that he was still sleeping uneasily. And even though Luxord and Xigbar himself were excused from missions and both had to take it easy…

… since when did they both follow instructions like that?

Xigbar smiled as he saw the empty room belonging to the Gambler. The bed was neatly made, the clocks on the walls and shelves were ticking away, oblivious to everything. Xigbar almost expected to find a note from the Gambler, saying that he had gone somewhere.

That was the thing about Luxord, at the moment. He was up and about, probably still taking it easy, but still not resting completely. Man, Vexen would have a fit if he knew that the Brit was leaving the castle – even his room – once in a while, in his long recovery. But Luxord seemed fine, better than when Xigbar had brought him to the laboratory that night, having only just managed to bring his ass back from the brink of death. In fact, he was already over the edge, Xigbar just managed to catch him. But Luxord seemed just fine by now, give or take a few oddities. He was healing nicely, talked politely and acted patiently. That was the problem!

Xigbar knew that the Gambler of Fate was a master of masks. As a Nobody, he kept them up rather well, making it his face to the world outside. Only a few times did the mask break and the perfectly blank expression fell. Xigbar had seen it on occasion, being pretty close to the dude. His mask was completely shattered that night, and Xigbar suspected that Luxord's mind had probably suffered the same treatment. Now a new mask was up, and it was simply better than the old one, simply too perfect. Luxord was way too fine right now, Xigbar reasoned. That little _click _in the hospital wing raised several alarms in the back of the Freeshooter's head. The dude was hiding behind a mask of dull smiles, polite nods and _fine_.

"Where did you go now, Lux?" Xigbar mumbled to himself, leaning against the wall. He was staring out the window for a few minutes, considering several possibilities of where Luxord could have gone. Finally deciding, Xigbar teleported out of the room and forgot to close the door after him. Not like _fine _Luxord could get himself to be pissed off by that anyways.

"Hey," Xigbar greeted, shielding his eye from the sharp sunlight reflecting in the almost white sand. "Thought you might be here."

A light breeze came over the shore, something that Xigbar was grateful for. He really hated being too hot. The water washed in over the sand, smoothing it out. The sun, not covered by a single cloud, beamed down on the little beach. Luxord was sitting cross-legged in the sand, with his back to Xigbar. He looked over his shoulder upon the Freeshooter's greeting, and Xigbar could see that the Gambler was careful not to twist his body too much.

"Xigbar," Luxord greeted with a polite nod. "What on earth are you doing here?" There was a curious look on his face. Xigbar noticed that he wasn't wearing his coat or even his boots. They were both positioned at or draped over a rock nearby. Rather, he wore a simple white shirt and the usual black pants.

"I could ask you the same thing, buddy," Xigbar said, standing in front of the Gambler so he didn't have to sit uncomfortably. "You know someone's probably going to murder you with their own bare hands if they discover that you're playing around here."

Luxord chuckled. "You or Vexen?" A quick scoff from Xigbar revealed that he wanted an answer. Luxord closed his eyes. "I needed some fresh air. And genuine light." He squinted up at the sun.

Xigbar plopped down next to him, folding his arms now that he finally could. "Yeah, I guess sunlight and crashing waves is better than lamps and rumbling machines, huh?"

Luxord nodded, his eyes closed in a calm manner. "It is," he agreed. "Was there anything you wanted, Xigbar?" He opened his eyes and looked over at him.

'_Actually,_' Xigbar thought, '_I wanna pull you up by the collar and shake some friggin' sense into you._' He opened his mouth to speak.

"It is wonderful to have a few days off," Luxord remarked, looking out at the sea again. "Much needed."

Xigbar was silent. A few days off? He really should give the guy a break, shouldn't he? The whole attitude of Luxord's annoyed him, perhaps because of the simple reason that he couldn't figure out the change in the Gambler's personality to begin with. Luxord seemed happier to everyone else, though Xigbar couldn't be fooled. But… what if it made Luxord happy to _seem_ happy? What if it was Luxord's way to heal up and move on? Retreating into himself for a while, then coming out of his shell yet again when he was ready. He didn't want to break the dude completely, or force off his chosen, _just fine_, slightly mad, new mask. Some wounds needed a bandage to cover them up while they healed too, right? It was Luxord's choice after all.

Xigbar realized that he had been staring at the Gambler. He reached out and patted his shoulder gently. "Just came to see if you had managed to drown yourself yet," he joked with a grin. "Wounds heal, right?"

Luxord nodded. "Indeed," He said. There was a silence that lasted for several seconds. "_Post tenebras lux_."

"What?" Xigbar said, lifting a pointy eyebrow.

"Light after darkness," Luxord translated. "It is nice of you to keep check on me. However, if you're really that worried, I can say that I've been here for some time and therefore gotten my fair share of fresh air and quiet." He started trying to get up from his position in the sand. Xigbar was up in a flash and helped the blonde to his feet, doing his best not to cause him any pain. "Thank you, Xigbar."

"You're gonna go with me back?" Xigbar asked as Luxord, with rather stiff movements, walked over to the rock with his boots and coat.

As Luxord started the process of picking up his belongings, his eyes caught the sea once again. It stretched out into the horizon and further, mysterious and beautiful like the smile on Tia Dalma's face sometimes. Luxord's face fell slightly as his inner ear could still hear the melody of the little music box, playing slowly. He knew what was lurking at sea, beneath the crashing waves or beyond the horizon. It was almost like the music came from there. But it stopped almost as soon as it had started, fading out like a long gone memory. Sometimes, Luxord couldn't even remember the melody, and sometimes he could. He stared.

"Hey!" Xigbar called impatiently. "You coming or what?"

Luxord lifted his head to look at Xigbar, a faint smile playing on his lips. He picked up his belongings and walked towards the Freeshooter, the dull smile still there.

"Of course," Luxord said, now with his back to the blue sea. He took a deep breath, ignoring the light stinging in his side. "Don't worry, Xigbar, we have lots of time for now, don't we?"

Xigbar waited for the Gambler, once again lifting an eyebrow. "Yeah," he sighed.

**THE END**

* * *

**Oh my god, it's finally the end. Everyone forgive me for crappy endings, it is truly hard to tie something like this up. The few of you who followed, read and reviewed this story, thank you very much. If there is perhaps enough support I could write another one, so spread the joyous word. This is THE longest chapter I have ever written. Ever, ever, ever. Don't forget to follow Luxord's "whacky" adventures in 50 Times.**


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